Silver Lining
by tinyhuman02
Summary: AU: A lot can change in ten years, a lesson Jackson Avery learns while attending his 10-year high school reunion. So when he falls for a former classmate he once tormented, he aims to fix his past mistakes and earn a second chance to impress her. Japril & other character appearances.
1. The Jock & The Beret

**Hey, folks! This story comes from a gifset I made for tumblr. Those who follow me there probably know what I'm talking about. Anyway, this is just a fun, little story I decided to write. This is rated M for later chapters ;)**

**A reminder, this is AU. Anything can happen.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or its characters. It's all in good fun!**

* * *

Ten years had passed since Seattle Grace Academy's class of 2003 graduated and moved on to better – or worse – opportunities. Some attended college, others jumped straight into the real world and found jobs. Everybody followed their own paths whether it led to success or failure. Now that their 10-year reunion had arrived, many people were curious to find out what happened to their classmates – who was rich or poor, alive or dead, happy or depressed. The reunion would reveal who changed the most or stayed the same.

For Jackson Avery, he was eager to return to his former hometown and see his old friends. A popular student-athlete at the academy, everybody knew his name. Captain of the varsity football team, the basketball team and the track team. Homecoming _and_ Prom King during his senior year. An honor roll student. A gorgeous face that all of the girls worshipped, the appealing charisma that even the teachers had adored. He had it all. Big man on campus.

And he became an even bigger familiar face in college and beyond. A star wide receiver at UCLA, Jackson was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers after declaring early following his junior season. He had grown to become a fan favorite nationally. Football experts dubbed him the second coming of Jerry Rice. Like in high school, everyone knew his name in the fantasy football world.

But for one weekend, he just wanted to be Jackson Avery. Not the superstar athlete, just Jackson. It wasn't going to be easy keeping a low profile considering he was returning to his hometown of five years. Prior to that, he had lived in Boston until his parents decided to relocate across the country for better job opportunities. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a doctor who operated her own private practice. Both of them had hoped he would follow one of their footsteps, but he always wanted to become a professional athlete.

From what he had heard, the majority of his class would be attending the reunion. Over the years, he had lost touch with his close group of friends, so he was looking forward to seeing them. While he had made numerous friends through teammates and famous celebrities, none of them understood him the way his high school buddies did. Nobody ever tried to outrank each other. They were all balanced with different personalities. He blamed himself for not making a better effort in staying in touch with them. Busy schedules made it difficult, but that was no excuse in his mind.

Reunion weekend consisted of two events – a so-called "Re-Meet & Greet" at the Emerald City Bar, which consisted of classmates reacquainting themselves with old friends while getting drunk in the process, and the formal reunion dinner in the academy's gymnasium where awards would be presented. The dinner also served as another excuse to be intoxicated all over again.

Dressed in a dark grey suit accompanied with a purple tie, Jackson casually entered the bar after retrieving his name tag from a table by the door. It had been shut down exclusively for his graduating class and he instantly recognized some faces, mostly former teammates of his. Unsurprisingly, eyes quickly dodged towards his direction when other people noticed his presence. Just what he needed, his peers staring at him like he was a god. Despite all of the attention he received, he hated it. As much as he wanted to tell them all to knock it off, he couldn't. He refused to be that snooty, famous guy.

Because he was a humble man. His mother constantly reminded him that no matter how much money and attention he got, it was important to stay grounded. No one appreciated arrogant sports stars. Well, the ones who weren't shallow anyway.

"Avery! Hey, Pretty Boy, over here!" Alex Karev shouted from across the room, waving his hand.

Jackson laughed at hearing his old nickname resurface. He hadn't been called Pretty Boy in years. It had been at least two years since he last saw his best friend in person. He smiled as he approached Alex and greeted him with a quick handshake and a hug. "How's it goin', man?"

"Doing well, doing well." The Caucasian man proudly held up the beer bottle in his hand. "Dude, this shit is free!"

Alex freaking Karev. He and Jackson were each other's wingman since they met during freshman year. The two men had hit it off immediately because they shared a passion for sports. Starting linebacker on the football team, all-state in wrestling and a beast with the hammer throw. The only thing they hadn't shared in common was performance in the classroom. Unlike the pretty boy, he was a slacker, usually paying nerds to do his homework and papers for him.

Now, he was a police officer, working in the downtown precinct. Tackling crime and beating up on criminals for a living had always been his goal in life. He hoped to become a senior detective one day. Just as he and Jackson started a conversation, they were interrupted by his wife.

"Jackson! It's good to see you again," Izzie Karev, formerly Stevens, squealed in excitement. The blonde woman nearly pounced on her friend and hugged him tightly. "Did you just arrive?"

"Yeah. Can you believe it's been ten years since we graduated? I mean, twenty eight hardly screams old, but attending a high school reunion forces you to think otherwise," he quipped, sharing a laugh with the Karevs. "Alex and I were just catching up. How's your practice doing?"

Izzie was a core member of Jackson's group of friends and also Alex's high school sweetheart. Captain of the cheerleading squad and student council vice president. The night before graduation, the couple eloped – with Jackson as the lone witness, of course. Their parents were livid upon discovering their secret, but they managed to remain married for ten years, despite the weekly bickering that occurred between them. And the happy couple had two little children to call their own.

Aside from her husband, she also loved animals. Ever since she found an injured deer on the side of the road, Izzie wanted to become a veterinarian. Like Alex, she fulfilled her dream and started her own practice after working for another for two years.

"It's great. Business is doing well. We're really flourishing now," she gleefully replied.

Alex threw his free arm over his wife's shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Izzie's the best vet in Seattle," he gloated, eliciting an eye roll from the blonde. "What? You are."

"You're supposed to say that because you're my husband," she teasingly said, then she gently slapped Jackson's shoulder with the back of her hand. "Did you come here solo? You have to be seeing somebody, Avery."

Jackson pursed his lips, forcing a smile as he slowly shook his head. "Nope. There's nobody."

Even for an attractive man like him, finding a woman to love and spend the rest of his life with wasn't simple. Trust was a major issue for him because there were plenty of women who either wanted him solely for his appearance, his money or both. A lot of them barely attempted to get to know him on a personal level. He wanted somebody who was _real_ and loved him for his flaws more than anything else.

Alex leaned forward, smirking at his best friend. "Dude, are you still waiting for _her_ to come around?" he whispered.

"What? No way," Jackson dismissively answered before furrowing his eyebrows. "Is she coming?"

"Any minute now."

He turned around, scanning the room for the woman he slightly dreaded, yet was eager to see again. However, she was nowhere to be found. Instead, he spotted another familiar couple from their high school years. "Hey, there's Charles and Reed."

Another pair of good friends from ten years ago, Charles and Reed Percy. The threesome waved the married couple over and they all exchanged hugs and handshakes. Like the Karevs, they were high school sweethearts, but got married after graduating college.

Charles was a big guy, taller than both Jackson and Alex. He played tight end on the football team until a career-ending knee injury sidelined him at the end of their senior season. The unfortunate injury also halted his hopes of becoming a professional baseball player. Now he held a boring desk job for a software company in Portland. It wasn't the worst occupation in the world considering he managed his own department, but seeing his two friends excel in what they had always wanted to be caused him to become internally resentful towards them.

His wife Reed, formerly Adamson, had been on the cheerleading squad with Izzie. Also a member of the debate team, she had been perfect for it because she constantly argued her way through everything, including what to name her children. Two already in tow with a third one on the way. Her large baby bump signaled she could pop at any moment.

"Nice, Reed. You finally grew out of that pixie cut phase," Alex teased and gestured towards her long, brown locks. Her hair was down to her shoulders, but back in high school, it was always cut short.

"Shut up, smart ass. I've had my hair long for the past five years," she retorted, playfully nudging him. "And you saw me yesterday when we set up that play date for the kids, so quit acting like you haven't seen me in so long."

"You guys all met up yesterday?" Jackson curiously asked. He tried not to think too much of it, but being left out of the unofficial reunion plans stung a bit.

Charles softly chuckled. "It was mostly for our kids to meet since they're all in the same age range," he explained, patting the football player's shoulder. "And we weren't sure if you were in town yet. You're a busy man, Avery. But you know, when you have some kids of your own we can include you too."

"You gotta find a woman to procreate with first, dude," Alex reminded Jackson, who rolled his eyes at him. "Look around you. There are plenty of freaking fish in the sea to choose from. Somebody in this room could be your future wife – or a pretty hot one night stand. Whichever you prefer."

"Or he could wait for you know who to arrive," Izzie chimed in. "She texted me that she was coming, so how about we wait for her to show up before you start pimping Jackson out to other women?"

The pretty boy sighed in frustration. He figured his friends would pester him about his old flame from high school. Things hadn't ended well between him and his ex-girlfriend. They had broken up during their freshman year of college because a long distance relationship took a toll on them. He was in California, while she was at NYU trying to become an actress. Every once in a while, they would talk at friendly gatherings. The most recent encounter was at Charles and Reed's wedding, which was almost six years ago.

Looking at his four married friends, Jackson suddenly became bitter that their relationships remained strong since they were eighteen and he had no such luck. All of them had children and were settled down in their respective homes. His life consisted of traveling all over the country to play football, reading what the critics were saying about him and being hounded by female fans who wanted to sleep with him. In his first two years in the NFL, he had been content with dating around after being committed to one woman for almost five years. However, the act grew old quickly and he was keen on settling down, raising his own family.

All he had was Toby, his golden retriever. His furry companion made for great company, but he couldn't have sex with his dog. Well, he could – if he had severe mental problems.

"Listen, I know you all think I'm still hung up on her, but it's been almost a decade since we broke up," Jackson defensively stated, sliding his hands inside of his pockets. "And if things haven't changed then, I highly doubt we'll miraculously solve our problems now."

"But you two haven't seen or spoken to each other since our wedding," Reed argued and shrugged. "Things could be different now. As far as I know, she's not seeing anybody either…"

"I'm telling you, my feelings for her aren't like that anymore, so let's drop it," he ordered, promptly ending the discussion. A beer was necessary to help calm himself down. "I need a drink."

* * *

The group moved to an open table at the request of Reed, who desperately needed to rest her feet. They reminisced over shenanigans they engaged in throughout high school. Some good, some they wished they could erase from their memories. An hour had passed since Jackson arrived when the sound of the bells jingling whenever a person entered or exited the bar alerted them. Each time, it had been somebody else instead of the sixth member of their group. But finally, she showed up.

Alexandra Caroline Grey.

Or Lexie, as everyone called her. Also known as Jackson Avery's girlfriend all through high school. They were deemed the so-called power couple at Seattle Grace. She was his Homecoming and Prom Queen. In the yearbook, they were voted "Cutest Couple" _and_ "Most Likely to Be Together Forever".

And she had been popular as an individual as well. Captain of the softball team, student council president. She also participated in theater arts. Her passion for acting and singing led her all the way to New York and ultimately, Broadway. Lexie's performance as Sophie Sheridan in _Mamma Mia!_ earned her a Tony Award nomination. It took a few years to find her niche in the musical theater world, but people were beginning to recognize her for her talents.

The last time Jackson had seen his ex-girlfriend in person, she had just graduated from NYU. Their conversation consisted of the basic questions old friends asked – how were they doing, what were they up to, where did they currently reside. But it had been incredibly awkward for them because they hadn't buried their past issues, which he believed weren't his fault to begin with.

They were living on separate coasts, so paranoia over whether or not either of them were faithful to each other developed. Being on the football team meant he was occasionally surrounded by cheerleaders and fangirls. She had accused him of cheating on her, thanks to harmful speculation from Reed, who loved to share gossip regardless if they were true or false. The accusation led to endless fights over the phone, immature e-mail messages and their eventual fallout.

He truly loved her, but if she couldn't trust him, then what was the point? They had to end their relationship. Their friendship flew out the window too.

Lexie stood by the entrance wearing a red cocktail dress, searching for familiar faces. Her long, brown hair flowed past her shoulders and she looked just about the same to Jackson – gorgeous. But he mentally scolded himself for letting his feelings resurface. After all of these years, he remained pissed at her because she had stopped trusting him.

Over a silly rumor.

Fucking Reed.

"There she is," Izzie announced, waving her arms above her head as she called out Lexie's name.

Jackson adjusted his tie as he sat up in his seat. The brunette woman stood across from him, slightly smiling at him. "Hey, Lex," he politely greeted her.

"How are you, Jackson?" Lexie replied, setting her purse on the table. She appeared to be just as nervous to see her ex-boyfriend. Their four friends remained quiet, holding back their smiles as they watched them interact for the first time in six years. "Umm… it's been a really long time."

He slowly nodded his head. "It has. Anyway, I'm doing alright. Still doing the football thing. Congrats on the Tony nomination. Too bad you didn't win." A part of him felt like an asshole because he actually celebrated the fact that she lost. "I'm sure you'll get another chance."

She briefly shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, well… fumbling the potentially winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl must have been terrible for you too."

Alex slightly winced. "Ouch. Right in the balls," he playfully commented, eliciting a scowl from his best friend.

Niners versus the Baltimore Ravens in the most recent Super Bowl – a memory Jackson hated to be reminded of and wished it had never happened. Why Lexie felt it was necessary to mention it? He had no idea, but it was likely due to him bringing up her Tony Award loss. Their burned bridges remained exactly that. Burned and still burning.

Izzie simply shook her head disappointedly. She didn't understand why after almost ten years, her two friends couldn't engage in a civil conversation. Their problems happened a long time ago and she felt it was time that they reconciled their differences. Reunion weekend was the perfect opportunity to do it, but so far, the same old story between them continued.

The blonde woman was ready to intervene and give them a piece of her mind when the arrival of a former classmate caught her eye. Another woman with auburn hair and wearing a black sleeveless dress looked very familiar to her, but she couldn't quite pinpoint who she was. She squinted her eyes, trying to remember her name. A minute later, the veterinarian connected the dots and gasped loudly.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, startling her husband and friends. Izzie pointed at the redhead in amusement. "Do you guys remember that woman over there? She looks _so_ different. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Which one?" Alex inquired. He spotted the woman and his eyes grew wide. "Holy shit! She got hot!"

"_Excuse_ me?" his wife sternly responded.

He sipped his beer before sheepishly replying, "Obviously, she's not as hot as you."

"Okay, who are we staring at?" Jackson glanced back at Alex with a puzzled expression on his face after the latter pointed out the redheaded woman. He had no idea who she was, but after a second glimpse his eyes were glued to her face. She had a hint of innocence on her based on the way she timidly chewed on her lower lip. And he thought she was one beautiful woman. "I still don't know who she is, but she's… _wow_."

"Are you freaking serious, Avery?" Alex scoffed with a smirk. "You don't recognize her at all? It's not like she had a complete facial reconstruction. She's the same girl, but like… hot. She's like the real life ugly duckling story."

The pretty boy simply shook his head. "Still not ringing a bell here."

Lexie rolled her eyes. "How can you not figure it out, Jackson? I mean, you and Alex were the worst to her in high school," she recalled. By then, all six of them were staring directly at the woman. "Just put a stupid beret on her head and _maybe_ you'll figure it out."

The beret. _Holy shit_, he thought to himself as he finally remembered who she was.

April Kepner.

_"Five bucks, Avery," Alex offered, placing a five dollar bill on the table. He and his friends were having lunch in the cafeteria when he decided to make a bet with his best friend. It was simple, really. Sit next to the mousy loner for the entire duration of the lunch period and pretend to show interest in her. "C'mon, don't be a pussy."_

_Jackson stared across the room at April Kepner, scrunching his nose uncomfortably. Nobody knew much about the quiet senior. She didn't have many friends – if she actually had any. Mostly kept to herself, but had the brains to get into any university she applied to. Not a hot commodity like his girlfriend, Lexie. In other words, she was a nerd, glasses and all. And she always wore a purple beret to accompany her long and droopy brown hair._

_There were other people sitting at the table with her, but they weren't necessarily there for her. It was obvious considering the group of four sat on one side, while April was seated alone on the opposite side._

_"Twenty bucks," he countered._

_"For Kepner? No way," Alex retorted, slapping another five dollar bill on the table. "Ten. That's my final offer."_

_"Fifteen."_

_"Fine," he agreed, swiping the money away before Jackson could take it. "You think I'm a moron? You gotta sit with her first before you get the prize. Your time starts now, so go."_

_Izzie shook her head in disgust. It wasn't the first time her friends toyed with April. While she herself wouldn't go out of her way to become friends with the bookworm, she didn't think her classmate deserved that type of treatment. "You guys are jerks," she accusingly stated. "Stop picking on her."_

_Jackson guffawed as he stood up and gathered his belongings. "It's not like I'm asking her to prom," he dismissively answered and picked up his tray. "Besides, Alex actually owes me fifteen bucks, so I'll suffer through twenty five minutes of boredom to get it."_

_He walked away from his table and confidently approached April's. Her head was down as she picked at a crumpled napkin, so she hadn't noticed his presence right away. She noticed movement from the corner of her eye and slowly gazed up at the most popular boy in school._

_"Hey," he charmingly greeted her. She stared back at him with wide eyes. "Mind if I sit here?"_

Jackson struggled to look away from April. He studied her from head to toe. Every curve, every detail he managed to make out from across the bar. Staring at her like she was on display made him feel guilty, though, because aside from his table it seemed as if nobody else noticed her, which was very much like their high school years. Now he was infatuated with her after two minutes even though he never gave her the light of day when they were teenagers. It sickened him. It made him feel obnoxiously shallow.

But he couldn't help it. She was so damn beautiful.

"April Kepner cleaned up well," Reed complimented, then she chuckled. "No glasses, new hair color. Thank goodness she ditched the beret. It would've been a little ridiculous if she wore that to the reunion."

"Wait. Didn't you guys burn that beret?" Lexie vaguely remembered. She slapped her palm against the table and pointed her finger at Jackson and Alex. "Yeah! In the chemistry lab. You two burned her beret."

Alex raised his hand next to Jackson for a high five. "Hell yeah, we did!" he joyously replied. His best friend barely glanced at him before shaking his head. He lowered his hand and grabbed his beer. "What? It was hilarious. She screamed like we murdered her freaking kitten."

"We didn't even mean to burn it. It was an accident," he retorted. In the past, it had been funny. Looking back at the incident now, he was beginning to realize just how big of a jackass he used to be. "Do you think we were truly well-liked by the majority of our senior class?"

"Are you asking if you think our classmates faked liking us?" Izzie answered with her own question. "I've always thought I treated people fairly whether I was friends with them or not. You want to know why? Because your past mistakes will come back to haunt you at occasions like this high school reunion."

Charles cleared his throat after drinking his own beer. "That was deep, Stevens," he muttered and belched afterwards. Amongst the six of them, he had lost his sober state first.

"Listen, everybody in our class didn't like everybody, but I don't think they pretended to like us," Reed insisted. She nodded her head towards the three men sitting beside each other. "I'll admit we had our share of being mean, but you guys were terrible."

Alex removed a five dollar bill from his wallet and dangled it in front of Jackson's face. "Why don't you buy Kepner a drink?"

The pretty boy smacked his friend's hand away. Ten years later, Karev was still kind of an ass. "This isn't high school anymore. Grow up, man." He returned his gaze back to April, who had moved from the entrance of the bar to an empty table. She sat alone while she checked her cell phone every other second. "Someone really should talk to her, though."

"When you mean someone you're talking about yourself, right?" he suspiciously asked. "You're not foolin' any of us, dude. Your eyes have been attracted to her boobs like they're magnets. Kind of like how you used to stare at Lexie freshman year."

Partially covering his face with his hand, Jackson wanted to shut up his wingman with one deserved punch. "Thank you for always being so blunt," he mumbled.

The police officer shrugged. "I make an effort," he sarcastically replied, making his peers laugh except for the embarrassed man sitting beside him. "Lighten up, Avery. We're supposed to be having fun catching up and crap. You're acting like we're at your family reunion or whatever."

Lexie grabbed her purse and smiled at Jackson. "Looks like you need another drink. C'mon, I'll join you at the bar," she offered, getting a head start and walking away from the table.

"See? Maybe there's still hope for the both of you," Alex stated, nudging his best friend with his elbow. "Go for it."

Jackson decided to listen to him, but only because sitting at the bar meant he would be closer to April. He casually approached the bar, taking a couple of peeks at the redhead before sitting next to Lexie and ordering himself a glass of whiskey. "I wasn't trying to make you look bad earlier," he told his ex-girlfriend. "The fumble mention was low."

"We can't always have things be in your favor, can we?" the brunette woman sneered and sipped her martini.

"Is this how the weekend will be for us? Throwing witty, smart ass remarks at each other?" he irritably asked, loosening his tie. "For the thousandth time, I never cheated on you in college. I'm not sure why you chose to believe Reed. She completely screwed with your head. How could she even know what I was doing down at UCLA when she was up here attending U-Dub?"

"She made a lot of valid points – at the time," Lexie explained. "Star football player, all the hot California girls you could get your hands on. We hardly saw each other, so it was easy to assume you were fooling around. We were freaking too young to know any better."

"I guess," Jackson half-heartedly agreed.

"Are you seeing anyone?"

He shook his head. "No. You?"

"Nobody," she dejectedly answered. Lexie glanced back at their group of happily married friends. "I always thought Charles and Reed wouldn't last because Reed was such a control freak. Now they've got the most kids. And everyone thought we'd get married first until Alex and Izzie eloped. Goes to show that not everything you think will happen actually happens."

Jackson tapped his finger against the rim of his glass, avoiding eye contact with his ex-girlfriend. "Being voted Most Likely to Be Together Forever jinxed us, huh?" he jokingly questioned and softly laughed. He looked up, taking another glimpse of April. "But you know what they say, everything happens for a reason."

* * *

_Alex held the tip of his pencil and wobbled it in front of his face. He laughed to himself as he easily entertained himself. "I've always loved this trick. It really does look like rubber."_

_"Instead of being useless, how about you help us finish this lab?" An aggravated Lexie demanded. They were in the middle of AP Chemistry class and as usual, Alex sat around doing nothing while his friends did all of the work. "You can be helpful by writing the answers down for us."_

_"What are we doing again?"_

_"Stoichiometry."_

_"What's that?"_

_Lexie groaned in frustration. "How the hell did you get into AP Chem, Alex?" She rolled her eyes and turned her attention towards Jackson and Izzie. "Did either of you figure out problem nine yet?"_

_"Nope. Something never adds up right," the cheerleader complained. "Is our solution completely dry yet, Jackson?"_

_"Uhh…" Jackson checked their evaporating dish through the watch glass cover and nodded. "Yeah, and how about I pick it up this time? You'll probably drop this one and we'll have to start all over again. We're behind enough as it is."_

_"Nobody told me to use the tongs."_

_He smirked at the blonde. "I thought it was common sense since you know, we're using the Bunsen burner?"_

_"Are you calling me dumb?" Izzie accusingly asked._

_"I'm calling you… forgetful," Jackson hesitantly replied with a forced grin. A high-pitched voice from the front of the classroom caught their attention. To nobody's surprise, April had finished her lab first. "Maybe we should've swapped Karev for Kepner's brain. We would've finished faster."_

_The nerdy girl with the purple beret handed her work to their teacher. "Here you go, Ms. Robbins," she chirped. "I even showed all of my work to prove my answers are correct. Triple checked them too."_

_Arizona Robbins forced a smile as she skimmed over April's work. "I'm sure you didn't even have to double check this to begin with," she politely said. "Thank you, April."_

_"Oh, and I was wondering if that extra credit assignment is still up. I decided to go ahead and do it."_

_"Yes, it's posted online, but you don't need the extra credit," she insisted. "You have a 100% in my class, so the extra credit won't give you more than that."_

_April pushed up her glasses and shyly smiled. "I know, but I think I could use the extra practice for your next exam."_

_Robbins placed her hands on top of her student's shoulders and leaned forward. "Trust me, you don't. Instead of worrying about my next exam or any other school assignment, just relax for the next twenty minutes. Read a book or you know what? I'll allow you to nap in my lab. Just do something that isn't related to any school work," she advised. "Be immature for once."_

_Slowly nodding her head, the brunette returned to her desk and pulled out a book from her backpack. The book was actually for an English class assignment, but she decided to pretend to read it for leisurely purposes. Being the first person finished with her work, April was isolated from the rest of her classmates. All of them remained in the back of the classroom at their lab tables trying to solve the same problems she breezed through in half the time._

_And she had done the work by herself rather than in a group. She figured it was pointless collaborating with her peers since they most likely would have used her for all of the answers. Working independently was her preference anyway._

_Principal Miranda Bailey appeared at the doorway, lightly knocking on the open door. "Ms. Robbins, a word please?"_

_Alex watched their teacher leave the classroom, then he looked at Jackson. "Psst, Avery," he whispered and nudged his best friend. "Do you think Kepner's got a bald spot on her head? I bet that's why she's always wearing that dorky beret."_

_"Or she just loves her beret," he snickered._

_"Maybe we can force her to help us with this crap. I'm sick of this freaking stoichimontrosity," his best friend whined._

_Jackson furrowed his eyebrows at Alex. "It's stoichi- nevermind," he sighed, firmly patting him on the back. A light bulb flashed in his head. "I have an idea. Let me do the talking, Karev."_

_He set his pencil on the table and walked towards April's desk. Sitting down in the seat in front of hers, he charmingly smiled at his classmate, who tried to hide her face with her book. "I like your hair today. The way it just hangs over your shoulders… hot."_

_She bashfully glanced up at him and nervously laughed. "Umm… thank you?"_

_"That's a cute beret too," he said, pointing at her hat. "Why do you always wear that anyway? Our school colors are navy and baby blue. The purple doesn't match our uniform."_

_"O-oh umm… my father gave it to me," April reluctantly answered as she gently patted the top of her beret. She half-smiled at Jackson. "He… he lives in France now, so umm…"_

_He lost his patience with her stammering and cut her off. "Can you help us finish our lab? We're way behind and since you're done-"_

_"I-I I don't think that's a very good idea," she interrupted. "Ms. Robbins is just outside and if she sees me giving you the answers, then I'll get a zero."_

_"So what? You're probably going to be the class valedictorian regardless of one flub. Everyone knows you're the smartest person in our year, so it won't matter," he persisted. "I'm not asking you to give us the answers. Just offer some insight on what we're doing wrong. I highly doubt we'll finish this assignment before the period's over."_

_"Yeah, Kepner," Alex chimed in after sneaking up on her. He snatched April's beret and waved it around. "Be a people person for once. Are you anthophobic?"_

_"I think you mean anthropophobic. Anthophobia is the fear of flowers," she corrected him and stood up, attempting to get her beret back. "Give that back, please."_

_The football player twirled the beret on the tip of his finger. "Well, my theory was wrong. You don't have a bald spot hiding under your hat. Let's make a deal, alright?" he suggested. "I'll give this back to you if you give us some answers in return."_

_Jackson chuckled when Alex tossed the beret to him like a frisbee. "Yeah, it's just a small favor. We only have a few left to do. We're not asking you to do all of the work for us." He threw it back to his friend as they engaged in a Monkey In the Middle type of game. "In fact, Ms. Robbins might actually reward you for cheating since you never do."_

_"I'm serious, you guys! Give it back!" April protested, glaring at both boys. "That beret's very important to me!"_

_"Not until you say the magic word," the pretty boy teased, flinging the beret above Alex's head. He gasped when it grazed an open flame from a Bunsen burner and caught on fire. "Oh, shit!"_

_Girls nearby started screaming as the beret burned on the floor. Their screeches and hollering alerted their superiors, who rushed into the classroom. Principal Bailey and Ms. Robbins ran towards the small fire while the teenagers moved away from it._

_"Will somebody get the fire extinguisher?" the tiny principal sternly instructed._

_A student brought one to the site of the fire and put it out. April crouched down beside her torched beret with tears in her eyes. Picking it up with her thumb and index finger, she choked back a sob as she examined her ruined hat. "My- my father gave me this," she whimpered._

_"How did April's beret catch fire in the first place?" Robbins angrily questioned, but her students remained silent. "If nobody fesses up, you're all getting a detention."_

_In a split second, all of them pointed towards Jackson and Alex. Principal Bailey snapped her fingers as she walked towards the exit. "Mr. Avery, Mr. Karev. My office now."_

_Following the short woman out of the classroom, Alex fought back a laugh while Jackson smacked his chest with the back of his hand. They quietly entered their principal's office, taking their seats in front of her desk. She sat down across from them with a scowl on her face._

_"Whose idea was it to burn Ms. Kepner's beret?" she inquired._

_"Not mine, Ms. Bailey. Avery overthrew the beret, which proved why he's only a wide receiver and not the quarterback," Alex replied amusingly and winced when Jackson punched his arm. "Dude."_

_"It was an accident," Jackson muttered._

_Principal Bailey folded her hands on top of her desk as she stared at him. "You mean to tell me that you accidentally threw April's beret at a Bunsen burner and accidentally lit it on fire?" she skeptically asked, arching an eyebrow at him._

_"Yes! That's exactly what happened," he claimed. "Honest. I didn't mean to set her ugly beret on fire."_

_"What were you two doing with it in the first place?"_

_Of course, neither of them wanted to admit that they were asking innocent April to help them cheat. Alex had been caught copying other people's work numerous times in the past and he was on thin ice with Principal Bailey. Jackson was known for being on the honor roll, so his parents would give him crap if they found out he was trying to cheat. He also didn't take trips to the principal's office for misbehaving and a part of him wanted to kick his friend's ass for getting him in trouble._

_"We were just borrowing it," Jackson lied, knowing his answer was hardly believable._

_"April Kepner doesn't have any friends. You were definitely not borrowing it," she noted. "Anyway, the fire you started could've easily turned into something worse, so for the next month both of you will report to detention after school."_

_"What?" he gasped in disbelief, while an unperturbed Alex quietly sat in his seat given detention was his home away from home. Jackson had never gotten a detention until now. "My parents will kill me!"_

_"That's not my problem," Principal Bailey calmly replied. "Maybe next time, you'll have a little more heart for those who aren't as fortunate and as popular as you. Being accepted by most of your classmates doesn't give you the right to treat others like they don't matter. It doesn't make you better people. In fact, I want you two to write me a five-page essay – single spaced – about the importance of respect. It's due at the end of the week."_

_"Are you freaking kidding me?" Alex mumbled under his breath._

_"I heard that, Mr. Karev." She pointed at his messy uniform. "And tuck your shirt in. I don't know how many times I've had to remind you to do that. If I have to do it again today, you're getting another month's worth of detention. You can both return to class now."_

_Jackson rolled his eyes at Alex as they left Principal Bailey's office. "Thanks, idiot. I almost had April wrapped around my finger when you barged in and screwed it all up," he bitterly stated. "A whole month of detention? My parents might as well ground me for two. They're gonna be pissed."_

_His best friend only grinned and squeezed his shoulder. "Look at the bright side, at least I'll have a buddy to hang out with during detention for the next month."_

_"Oh, yeah. I'm looking forward to it," he sarcastically responded, punching Alex's arm one more time. "Douche."_

* * *

Lexie had been going on and on about her Broadway career that she didn't notice Jackson completely ignoring her. He could hear her voice, but he wasn't actually listening to what she was saying. His eyes were locked on April again. Nobody had approached her since she arrived at the bar. It baffled him because she had grown up to become insanely attractive, compared to some of the other women there. He supposed it wasn't a bad thing since he wanted to be the first man to talk to her.

Jackson finished his whiskey, clearing his throat as he pushed himself up from his stool. "Hey, can you excuse me for a second, Lex? I'll be right back."

"Umm… sure," she murmured, watching him walk away and feeling a little disappointed, especially when she realized who he wanted to speak to instead.

With his hands inside of his pockets, Jackson approached April's table and smiled at her. "Hey," he greeted her, catching her off-guard. She even turned around assuming he was talking to somebody behind her. "Remember me? Jackson Avery?"

The redhead faced forward, tilting her head down to avoid eye contact with the pretty eyed man. Those gorgeous bluish green eyes had always been his most irresistible physical feature. She chewed on her lower lip and fidgeted with her cell phone.

_"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, smiling down at her._

_April wasn't sure what to think. Why would a handsome jock like Jackson Avery want to sit next to her during lunch? And he had a girlfriend, so she was even more confused. Guys like him never noticed girls like her._

_She immediately picked up her lunch tray and shuffled out of her seat. "I have to pee," the nerd squeaked before turning away from Mr. Popular and quickly walking away from him._

"Uhh…" April looked up at Jackson, clumsily sliding off of her stool and nearly falling over. She smoothed out her dress and walked past him. "I have to pee."

He spun around as she escaped to the women's restroom. Lexie laughed at him on her way back to their friends' table making him annoyed and embarrassed. But he wasn't going to give up that fast.

Jackson was not going home until he at least got April's number.

* * *

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think :) Chapter two will be posted next week!**


	2. Wrong Person

**Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate your feedback :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Impossible_, April thought.

Jackson Avery approached _her_? There had to have been some sort of mistake. She was certain he mistook her for somebody else because they almost lived in entirely different universes in high school. It made zero sense to her.

The redhead had locked herself inside of the women's restroom, yet she chose to close herself off even more by hiding inside one of the stalls. Leaning back against the wall, April sighed as she gazed up at the ceiling. A part of her regretted coming home for reunion weekend. It took her until the day of the deadline to respond to the e-invite. High school was great from an academic standpoint, but it was a social nightmare. Facing the people who barely noticed her when they were teenagers didn't make a whole lot of sense.

But she wanted to visit Seattle, even for only a weekend. Her family resided there, she spent her entire childhood in the Emerald City and it was difficult to return to her hometown under her current living situation.

April currently lived all the way on the opposite end of the country in Miami, Florida, where she worked as a surgical resident at the University of Miami Hospital, specializing in orthopedic surgery. The valedictorian of their high school class, she took her brain to Stanford for her undergraduate studies before moving to the East coast to attend Harvard for medical school. Throughout her college years, her social life remained the same – more books than friends. Breezed through Stanford in three years to enter medical school a year early. She relocated to Miami for a new lifestyle, but all that really changed in her mind was her hair color and the restored eyesight from LASIK surgery.

She wasn't sure what would be worse upon returning to Seattle, being recognized or ignored like the old days. About 95% of her classmates likely couldn't remember her valedictorian speech. She tried to be profound and etch something meaningful into her peers' heads, but a lot of them either snoozed or mingled with their neighbors in their seats. Perhaps rambling about the Civil War and using big words hadn't helped her cause… or that she tripped down the steps on her way back to her seat.

Nobody had taken a long glance at her when she arrived at the bar. Even her name tag didn't catch their attention. April felt a mixture of relief and embarrassment. Who wanted to be that person no one remembered from high school?

And just when she had thought it was a bad idea to arrive alone, the man she secretly crushed on for years wanted to give her some company. Instead of graciously accepting the offer, she reverted back to that nerdy, highly insecure girl and ran off. On the other hand, it wasn't as if Jackson had been the kindest to her. Sure, he was good looking and extremely popular back then, but he had also done some cruel things to her for no reason at all. Her cousin George never understood why she crushed on a guy who treated her so poorly. Then again, almost every girl at Seattle Grace Academy swooned over him. Even she could be surprisingly shallow.

She told herself that all she needed to do was act cool, which sounded easier said than done. A loud knock on the door forced her to come out of hiding when a woman from outside asked why the door was locked.

"Just a minute!" April called out as she exited the stall. She checked herself in the mirror, brushing some of her hair aside with her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the restroom's door and unlocked it. She awkwardly smiled at the impatient woman as she moved aside. "Sorry about that."

Jackson leaned back against the wall and smirked when his former classmate appeared. "I was hoping you wouldn't spend the entire night in the restroom," he quipped, slightly startling her. She dropped her cell phone and bent over to pick it up while giving him a decent view of her behind. "Everything alright?"

The orthopedic surgeon shot up and quickly turned around. "Umm, yes. I… I'm fine," she timidly answered, then she extended out her hand. "I'm April Kepner."

"I know," he amusingly replied and shook her hand.

"Oh, well… I just thought maybe you were thinking I was somebody else," she insisted, forcing herself to laugh.

"No, I knew." He pointed at her name tag with a smile. "And that helped too."

April looked down at her name tag and sheepishly grinned at Jackson. She had trouble staring at his face. Her eyes constantly wandered away from his. "Right. And you have a name tag as well," she pointed out, internally wanting to fall over and die for slowly making herself look like a fool in front of him. The man was an NFL star and while sports weren't her highest of interests, she spent enough time following his football career.

He pursed his lips and nodded his head. "Yup. I'm pretty sure we all have one."

Watching her bite down on her lower lip – a mannerism he remembered her doing a lot in high school – Jackson could tell she was nervous around him. And she continued to fidget with her cell phone, checking it every other second like before. That was when he noticed a ball busting detail on her left ring finger.

A diamond ring. Was she engaged or worse, _married_?

"Uhh… are you waiting for somebody?" he curiously asked. "You keep looking at your phone, so if I'm intruding-"

"No! No. I mean, I _am_ waiting for someone, but you're not intruding," she answered and held up her cell phone. "My fiancé is supposed to meet me here. He met up with some old colleagues for dinner, so he's running late. I'm not sure what time he'll be arriving, but… company's nice. I-I I didn't expect anybody to come over and say, 'Hi'…"

Jackson softly smiled at her, trying to hide his disappointment as she rambled. Of course she was freaking engaged, he thought. A beautiful woman like April couldn't be unattached. Whoever her fiancé was, he was one lucky son of a bitch. But he was standing there talking to his woman and that other guy wasn't, so he decided to milk all of the time he could with her.

"Can we sit down and have a drink?" he suggested. "Until your fiancé is here, we could talk and catch up with what's happening in our lives."

"Yeah. That would be great," she concurred.

They found empty seats at the bar and ordered drinks. A glass of red wine for her and another round of whiskey for him. "So, what do you do?" Jackson inquired after sipping his beverage.

"I'm an orthopedic surgeon," April chirped. "Well, not yet. I'm about to start my fourth year of residency, but I'm focusing in orthopedic surgery."

"Ortho, huh?" He mischievously grinned back at her. "So, if I were to hurt my knee or bust my shoulder, would you be able to offer your services and fix me?"

"That might not be the most ideal situation because you live in San Francisco and I live in Miami. I work for the University of Miami and their collegiate teams," she shyly answered.

"Miami," he slowly recited, observing her pale skin. "I heard the beaches are nice. Do you visit them often?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Not really. You can probably tell, right? No matter how much I wish I could tan it doesn't work out that way. I burn badly, so the beach isn't my most favorite place to relax."

"So, why Miami if you hate the beach?"

"It's different from Boston where I attended medical school. And unlike Seattle, there's _sunshine_," she noted, sharing a laugh with him. "I guess I wanted a change in scenery, though I loved California. You understand what I mean since you live in the Bay Area."

Jackson nodded in agreement. "I do. San Francisco's a beautiful city. There's this really awesome sandwich shop that I visit frequently. It's called Ike's Place. Have you been there?" He watched her shake her head. "Well, they name sandwiches after random stuff, sometimes athletes, and they ended up naming a special sandwich after me."

"Wow, really? I suppose it makes sense since you play for the Niners. That's cool," she complimented.

"Actually, it's sort of embarrassing because occasionally people walk up to me and tell me that they ate me five minutes ago or the other night and… that just doesn't sound politically correct," he explained, making her giggle. Her smile always showed off a single dimple on her face. He hated being infatuated with her knowing she was unavailable. "It gets awkward sometimes."

"I bet people notice you all over the place."

He sighed, drinking more whiskey. "It doesn't mean I enjoy it. You're probably thinking I must love all of the attention because that's how I was in high school, but it's not the same. It's overwhelming. I have a hard time trusting people these days."

"You're not married or dating anybody?"

"Nope," he dejectedly replied. "My fault, I guess. The whole no trusting thing really shrinks my dating pool."

"Maybe you should try trusting people more," April recommended. "What drove you to stop trusting them?"

Jackson pointed out Lexie from across the bar. She had returned to their group's table and was busy mingling with their friends again. "Her. You remember Lexie Grey?"

"Of course," she answered, recalling the many times she felt jealous of the Broadway star because she was Jackson's girlfriend and they were such a perfect couple. "I uhh… thought you two would be married by now."

"Not even close," he muttered, staring down at his glass. "We broke up freshman year of college. She thought I was cheating on her and honestly, I wasn't. We fought a lot, so we ended things. Our friendship never really recovered after that. Seeing her brings back some feelings, but I just don't want to go there anymore."

"Why not? There's a chance you two can still hit it off," April implied. "Isn't one of the purposes of high school reunions to rekindle that relationship with your lost love? Or have I watched too many sappy rom-coms that involve past lovers getting back together?"

Jackson sipped his whiskey and shook his head. "Probably the latter. Most broken up couples are more likely married to or dating somebody else than being single and waiting for their high school sweetheart to come around. I know that's not the case with Lexie and I, but like I said, I'm not that interested." He half-smiled at the redhead. "Besides, I heard it's more enjoyable talking to people who weren't really your friends ten years ago. You never know who you relate to now opposed to then."

She cleared her throat after drinking her wine. Despite how friendly he had been with her, she still couldn't understand why he suddenly wanted to hang out with her at the bar. There were plenty of other old friends and acquaintances she thought he should be catching up with.

"Umm, Jackson? Why did you… want to talk to me?" April reluctantly questioned. "You barely acknowledged my presence in high school and when you did you weren't exactly the nicest person to me. You and your friends clearly thought I was a loser."

The pretty boy refused to straightforwardly tell her that he approached her because he thought she was a gorgeous woman. That would certainly rub her the wrong way and make him look like an extremely superficial person. Initially, he did act shallow since he instantly fell hard for her the moment he laid his eyes on her. However, he wanted to know everything about her, but first, he needed to redeem himself and prove he was interested in more than her appearance.

"The truth? Looking back at our high school years, I feel terrible about how I used to treat you," he admitted with a grimace. "The beret incident stands out the most. I… I never apologized to you for that and I'm really sorry. Back then, I just didn't care, but I've changed. I actually feel worse now thinking about it."

"And a part of me believed you thought I was hot or something, which would've been funny," April sarcastically replied, causing Jackson to shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Seriously, no one ever tells me that I'm hot. My fiancé does sometimes, but he has to say that because we're engaged."

He guffawed at her comment. "Or maybe it's true."

The former nerd dismissively waved her hand. "It's not."

"Yes, it is. I think you're beautiful," he blurted out. April was visibly taken aback by his compliment, staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Jackson scratched the back of his neck and forced a laugh. "I mean it. You'd look beautiful right now if you were wearing that purple beret."

"Are you mocking me?" she asked, appearing offended. "That beret had a ton of sentimental value even though you thought it looked ridiculous. My father gave me that when I was fourteen – before he passed away."

"Passed away?" he repeated the last part. "But you said he lived in France."

April frowned. "Obviously, I lied. He never lived in France. I just made that up on the spot. I didn't want you or any of your friends feeling sorry for me even more if you knew," she confessed, her eyes beginning to swell with tears. "My father died from a heart attack just a few days after my birthday. That beret was his last birthday present for me."

_Fuck me_, Jackson immediately cursed at himself in his head. He felt like an even bigger asshole for burning the beret, despite it being an accident. If he could go back into time and come face to face with his 18-year old self, he would have kicked his own ass. The guilt was even worse now.

"Oh, shit. I didn't know…"

"Of course you didn't. We weren't friends, so how could you have possibly have known that fact about me?" she retorted before sliding off of her stool. The teary eyed redhead turned her head away from him as she walked towards the women's restroom again. "Excuse me."

Jackson watched April disappear into the restroom, then he dropped his head and placed his forehead against the counter. He mumbled every curse word known to man and lifted his head when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Alex's. "What?"

His best friend placed his empty beer bottle on the counter and took April's seat. "Where'd Kepner go?"

"The restroom… _again_," the professional athlete groaned. "Except this time, I think I made her cry."

"Dude," Alex chuckled. "What did you say to her?"

The pretty boy threw his hands up in frustration. "That purple beret! I had no idea it was a gift from her _dead_ father," he whined, picking up his whiskey and finishing it. "If I had known her dad was dead instead of believing her lie, then I wouldn't have messed with her like that. Now she thinks I'm a total dick. And another thing, April's engaged."

"To what?" he jokingly asked, drawing a scowl from Jackson.

"Don't be an ass. If you and Izzie weren't married, you would've jumped at the opportunity to hit on her," he scoffed. "It wouldn't surprise me if you still tried tonight."

Alex slapped Jackson's shoulder with the back of his hand. "Hey, I may be an ass, but I don't cheat on my wife." He ordered another beer for himself before turning his attention back to his best friend. "Okay, so Kepner's engaged. Why are you still trying to create something with her? You know, Lexie's still single as of five minutes ago."

"I don't know, man," Jackson replied miserably, slightly dropping his head. "There's something about April that draws me in and I can't stay away."

"Well, yeah. She's freaking hot now." He nodded his head towards their table. "And so is Lexie."

"Shut up about Lexie. I'm not interested. Maybe I was for a split second, but I don't feel that way about her anymore. I get it'll be like the good, old days if she and I got back together. We're not meant to be, though."

"Alright, fine. What's so interesting about the class hot nerd then?"

"First of all, let's drop the nerd moniker. It's not as funny anymore," Jackson scolded Alex. "April's a surgical resident in Miami. That's badass if you ask me. To be honest, I didn't really get to know much more about her before I screwed up and brought back shitty memories of her burned beret. I'm interested, though. I want to know everything about her now."

The police officer skeptically stared at him and laughed to himself. "What are you going to accomplish by doing that? You said she's engaged, remember? Kepner's already attached to some other schmuck," he bluntly said, then he mischievously grinned. "Are you trying to be that dude who steals another dude's woman? That's some balls, Avery."

His pretty eyed friend immediately shook his head. "No way. I wouldn't call it stealing. More like, _swaying_ her opinion of whoever this fiancé is."

Alex chuckled. "And you're doing this for April freaking Kepner." He chugged some of his beer and smirked at Jackson. "This reunion's entertaining already. I thought it'd be boring and predictable. Hell, I'm surprised the single chicks aren't trying to climb all over you, Mr. Football Star."

"Trust me. I'm very grateful that they're not," he murmured. A night without people pestering him for photo opportunities and autographs would be a dream come true. "I want to blend in for a change."

"Hmm… probably won't happen," his wingman disagreed. Alex noticed April coming out of the women's restroom and stood up. "Kepner's on her way back. Want me to leave?"

"No. I want you to stay, so we can negotiate a threesome with her," Jackson sarcastically answered and shooed him away with his hand. "Scram, Karev."

Instead of leaving right away, Alex winked at the redhead when she returned to the bar. "What's up, Kepner?"

April eyed him suspiciously after he left them alone. She faced Jackson with her arms folded. "So, I was going to come back and forgive you for destroying my beret, but now I'm not so sure."

"Why?" he questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Was Alex placing another bet with you? It's just like high school, isn't it? Betting each other to sit next to me during lunch? Only this time, he bet you to hit on me, huh?" she angrily replied. "And I've seen _She's All That_, so I know how this works. I didn't appreciate being toyed with then and I most certainly don't appreciate it now."

"No, he didn't! I promise, there were no bets placed on you," Jackson insisted with a frown. "April, I'm incredibly sorry for _everything_ my friends and I did to you in high school. I mean it. Nobody forced me to approach you earlier. I wanted to. I want to get to know you."

"And it has _nothing_ to do with my appearance, right? I'm not very dense, Jackson. I know I look different because I no longer have glasses and my beret and my brown, frizzy hair."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll admit it. I found you attractive when you walked in, but shouldn't you be flattered by this?"

"Flattered that you're shallow?" April sneered, smirking back at him.

"How about the fact that I am a complete idiot for not thinking you were worth the time in high school?" Jackson sheepishly answered. He gestured his hand towards her. "And I'm paying the price because you're getting married to somebody who didn't waste time ignoring you."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You say that now, but if we were to turn back time and you changed your mind about me, things wouldn't be better. I'm positive you would've been embarrassed to be seen in public with me."

He simply sat there without a response because she was right. Even if he was able to change his opinions about April, he would have still acted like she didn't exist when they were in front of his friends. Jackson knew he would have been ashamed to be dating a girl who didn't meet the standards of his clique. And there was also Lexie. Between her and the nerd, his former 18-year old self would have picked his ex-girlfriend every time.

The redhead picked up her purse. "Thank you for the chat, but I'll just wait for my fiancé outside."

Jackson grabbed a hold of April's wrist before she could leave. "No, wait. Can you please give me some more time to prove that I'm a good guy?" he pleaded. "Get to know me better and vice versa. It's reunion weekend. You're supposed to be interacting with your old classmates. That's why you came, right?"

"Actually, Principal Bailey asked me to write a speech as class valedictorian," she unenthusiastically replied, biting down on her lower lip. "She claimed I would be a poor representative of our class if I didn't attend."

"It wouldn't hurt to make some friends this weekend." He refused to release her from his grip and smiled at her. "Just stay. I guarantee you that I won't pull anything shady against you."

An unfamiliar man approached them from behind, placing his hand on April's shoulder and making her jump. He appeared to be older, around his mid-thirties and definitely not the type of man Jackson envisioned she was engaged to. The man wore a white dress shirt with a black jacket and slacks. He looked like a model – and loaded with money.

"Is this guy bothering you?" he asked her, smirking at the football player. "Oh, wait a minute. You're Jackson Avery. I'm a big fan of yours. Have you considered moving down to Miami when you become a free agent? We have amazing beaches."

"Uhh… no, not really," the pretty boy slowly said and extended out his hand. "And you are?"

The man grinned widely as he shook Jackson's hand. "Mark Sloan. I'm April's fiancé," he introduced himself. "That's funny, she never mentioned that her high school class included a big shot like you. So, were you two friends?"

April cleared her throat, forcing a smile. "Umm, how was your dinner?" she inquired to change the subject.

"Boring. There's a reason why I've barely kept in touch with my old friends from med school," he dismissively said, running his hand up and down his fiancée's back. "I told them I had to make a phone call and bailed. The restaurant wasn't impressive either."

"You two work together?" Jackson asked curiously.

Mark nodded as he pulled April against his side. "I'm a plastic surgeon. One of the finest in the country," he gloated.

"And how long have you two been a couple?"

"Since she was an innocent intern. I've had my eye on her since the day I saw her following around her resident at the hospital," he recalled, then he wrapped his arm around her waist. "But she's not so innocent anymore. Not after I came into her life."

Jackson stared in disgust as the plastic surgeon's hand slithered down south and grabbed April's ass. She clearly looked uncomfortable and embarrassed by the gesture, which made him even more confused. This person was all wrong for her, he thought. Despite knowing little about her current life, his gut told him that Mark wasn't a humble guy. He started bragging from the moment they met. It surprised him that his classmate would fall for a man like him.

"Mark," April mumbled, her cheeks a rosy shade of red. She looked at Jackson and nervously laughed. "Don't believe him. He likes to crack jokes. He's a… funny guy."

"And handsome too," Mark added, leaning in and kissing her lips.

"Not to mention, douchey," Jackson muttered to himself. He was relieved that neither surgeons overheard his comment and stood up, smiling at the couple. "Well, the night is still young, so… hopefully, this won't be the last time we talk, April."

He walked away before she could respond. After meeting April's fiancé, he definitely wasn't a fan of his.

* * *

_On her third day as a surgical intern at the University of Miami Hospital, April was already enamored by her resident. With a red notebook partially covering her face, she watched Callie Torres reduce a patient's dislocated hip. The older woman was a fourth year resident, specializing in orthopedic surgery. She was a hard ass on the job, but a kind person to chat with. Of all of the interns who were assigned to her, she already favored the meek and shy Harvard graduate because she was quick to answer questions and soaked in every piece of information like a sponge. Torres appreciated interns who weren't stupid._

_The Latina woman made orthopedics look badass and April was instantly intrigued by it. She had always thought she would choose neurosurgery or cardiothoracic surgery as her specialty. That idea flew out the window after witnessing her resident in action._

_Callie heard a loud pop as her passed out patient's hip reset back into place. "Ah, nothing feels better than when you successfully reduce a hip dislocation," she proudly stated, brushing her palms together. "Kepner, now we're going to send Mr. Harrison upstairs to Radiology for another set of x-rays, a CT scan and an MRI scan to ensure the femur is back in place, there aren't any fractures and that there isn't any ligament damage. Let's go."_

_April followed the fourth year out of the trauma room, helping her push the gurney to the nearest elevator. "You make it look so easy, Dr. Torres," she complimented._

_"With some practice, it is. Although, hip dislocations are far more complicated than say, a shoulder dislocation. You don't want to leave the femoral head out of its socket too long or you eventually damage its blood supply," she advised. "If you're truly interested, I'll give you the opportunity to reduce the next dislocation that comes my way."_

_"Really? That would be neat!" she chirped. "What's the most badass thing you've done so far?"_

_They entered an elevator with their sleeping patient. "Hmm… I've rebuilt a hand once. Last year, a wood chipper accident. Very gruesome," Callie recalled, then she smiled. "And I gave that man the ability to use his hand again."_

_Rebuilding limbs? Ortho was becoming more and more interesting by the second. April jotted a few notes down before exiting the elevator after it reached their floor. They walked to the Radiology department and set up their patient for the required scans._

_"No ligament damage and no fractures as far as I can see," the older surgeon announced while she viewed the scans on a computer. "That's good. We can prescribe some painkillers and set up a rehabilitation schedule for him."_

_After bringing their patient into a recovery room, Callie and April strolled down the hallway. "I have an ACL repair in two hours. It's not the most exciting surgery, but if you'd like to scrub in-"_

_"Sure!" the intern quickly responded. "I'd love to. Thank you, Dr. Torres."_

_Approaching their direction was a tall, handsome man in teal scrubs. The brunette couldn't keep her eyes off of him until she realized he had made direct eye contact with her. She reached up to adjust her glasses, but she forgot she didn't wear them anymore. Prior to moving to Miami, April had gotten LASIK surgery to fix her eyesight, though she occasionally resorted back to her old habit and felt embarrassed whenever she poked herself in the eye._

_As they walked past the man, he grinned down at her and she turned around to get one more look at him. Her attention had been focused on him that she neglected to see the upcoming corner and she bumped into the wall instead. She rubbed her cheek, while Callie glanced back at her confused._

_"Are you alright, Kepner?"_

_"Umm, yeah. Clumsy moment," April awkwardly said and caught up with her resident. "Who's that man? He's gorgeous."_

_"Oh, Dr. Sloan?" she replied in amusement. "He's a plastics fellow here. A word of advice, you don't want to go anywhere near that man. Mark Sloan is… well, he's not the dating type and women like you aren't what he goes for."_

_"W-women like me?"_

_Callie regretted her choice of words when she saw the distraught expression on her intern's face. "What I meant was, Sloan sleeps around and he's typically interested in women who aren't seeking a serious relationship. You just seem like the type of person who's the opposite. You're… innocent," she explained and patted April's shoulder. "I'm being a caring resident by warning you about the sleazy surgeons. Find a nice man, April, not a guy like Mark."_

_Slowly nodding her head, April couldn't help but remember that Mark had briefly smiled at her. Even men she crushed on over the years hadn't done that. "He actually smiled at me," she gushed. "He noticed me. Men rarely notice me like he did."_

_"You can't say I didn't warn you," Callie noted, rolling her eyes. "He's nice when he wants to be, but you're an intern. If you're on his service, you won't be doing anything medically related. You'll be in charge of his dry cleaning or he'll send you on coffee runs at least three times in one day. Sloan looks down on interns, so don't get your hopes up."_

_"But this is a teaching hospital."_

_"And that's what I'm doing. I'm teaching you to stay away from Mark Sloan," she quipped and laughed to herself. "Seriously, he's a fantastic plastic surgeon, but that doesn't necessarily mean his personality is likable too."_

* * *

Slouched in his seat with his elbows on the table, Jackson pressed both of his hands against his cheeks as he watched April and Mark from across the bar. The engaged couple were seated at the counter, though they weren't doing much interacting. Her fiancé was busy yapping about something to the bartender, while she quietly sat beside him and poked at her cell phone. They didn't look like the happy, shiny pairing he met twenty minutes earlier.

He had been observing them since he returned to his friends' table. At first, the plastic surgeon was all over April, kissing on her neck and inappropriately groping his favorite body parts of hers. It grossed him out seeing Mark act like a drunk pervert without having drank a sip of alcohol. Now he was even more baffled by their relationship.

"What's the matter with you?" Lexie interrupted his thoughts after she noticed the lackadaisical expression on his face. Everyone at their table was enjoying themselves, whereas her ex-boyfriend looked like he was attending a funeral. "Are you _that_ upset about April rejecting you?"

"She didn't reject me. She… was never available to begin with," Jackson bitterly responded. He waved his hand towards the two surgeons. "Look at him. He's not even paying attention to her."

"You sound jealous," the brunette suspiciously pointed out. "You barely even know her. I mean, she may be innocent on the outside, but what if she's the polar opposite on the inside?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. And I'm not jealous."

Lexie softly laughed, slowly nodding her head. "Sure. Whatever you say." She took his hand and forced him to stand up. "Let's go dance, Jackson. You need to take your mind off of her for a minute or two."

Jackson decided to go along with it because dancing by the jukebox gave him an excuse to be closer to April and to keep an eye on her. He placed his hands against his ex-girlfriend's waist, trying to keep a respectable distance between them. They slow danced with some other couples, but he kept his eyes on the redhead's back. Her shoulders were slightly slumped and by reading her body language, one wouldn't assume she was with Mark.

"I almost didn't want to come this weekend," Lexie mentioned. "Partly because I wasn't sure if you would be here too and if you wanted to see me."

"I had no idea if you'd be here or not." He slightly smiled and shrugged. "And if you had refused to speak to me, I wouldn't have been bothered by it too much. You made a choice to stop trusting me and trying to convince you I never cheated would've been beating a dead horse."

"In retrospect, it was ridiculous of me and I'm sorry," she apologized. "Think about it. We might have been married with our own set of children like the others. We were happy. People thought we were the prime example of how to succeed in a long term relationship."

"That was ten years ago, Lex."

"I know, but I'm just saying, it wouldn't hurt to try one more time."

Rather than respond to Lexie's suggestion, Jackson pretended he hadn't heard her last comment. They could try all they wanted, but it wouldn't change his mind about April. He felt like a lovesick puppy who was banned from all of the chew toys. His current infatuation sat twenty feet away from him and he couldn't talk to her. Or kiss her. Seeing Mark having the privilege to do whatever he wanted with her made him jealous inside. His initial impression of the older man was that he was a cocky son of a bitch who treated his fiancée like she was his property.

It wasn't freaking fair.

Mark excused himself from the bar to use the restroom. It was the best opportunity to interrogate him, so Jackson politely moved away from Lexie and followed him inside. The plastic surgeon was relieving himself at one of the urinals and he hesitantly joined him, leaving an empty urinal in between them. He didn't want to send him any uncomfortable vibes.

"So, what attracted you to April?" Jackson asked inquisitively. "In high school, she didn't look anything like how she does now."

"She's a sweet woman. Doesn't complain or question my actions 24/7. I tell ya, I've been with hundreds of women and the majority of them were whiners. April minds her own business and I like that. Makes life less stressful for me," the arrogant man explained. "And you can't tell by just looking at her, but she's astounding in bed. Why would I let that kind of woman go?"

The football player tried to hide the grimace on his face. Nothing that came out of Mark's mouth screamed love to him. For all he knew, April's fiancé had a dozen mistresses elsewhere and she didn't care. They weren't equals, more like he ran the show and she obeyed him. It sickened Jackson to hear him gloat about her that way.

"You must really love her," he insinuated.

"She's good enough," Mark nonchalantly replied.

Jackson pursed his lips and bit the inside of his cheek. A sleazy bastard, he thought. April didn't deserve a man like him, regardless of his occupation and paycheck. He used all of his will power not to throw a punch at him. Fighting in the men's restroom with their zippers down probably wouldn't look right if someone were to walk in on them. Maybe after they washed their hands.

Nah. The tabloids would be all over it if people found out the NFL star was arrested for starting a bar fight. ESPN would likely exaggerate the story and his reputation would be over.

"Were you and April friends in high school?" Mark asked.

"Umm… no. We had very different social circles, but I had classes with her," he replied as he flushed. "She was really smart and our class valedictorian."

"Yeah, I know she was a nerd," the other man answered with a chuckle. "She showed me old pictures of her once. Believe me, if she still looked like that, I most likely wouldn't have noticed her existence. How do you like her hair? It was my idea for her to change it last year. The red is sexy on her, huh?"

Jackson rolled his eyes while he washed his hands at the sink. "Yeah. Hot." He left the restroom in a hurry and approached April at the bar. He leaned against the counter, tilting his head to make eye contact with her. "That guy doesn't deserve you."

She glanced up from her cell phone. "I beg your pardon?"

"Mark. I don't understand why that man is your fiancé," he sternly replied. "He talks about you like you're his skank."

April surprised him and other bystanders when she slapped Jackson's cheek. "You know nothing. Stop acting like you care about me," she retorted, angrily standing up just as Mark rejoined them at the bar. She yanked on his jacket, pulling him in for a deep kiss. "Let's get out of here."

Mark smugly grinned as she led him towards the exit. "Fine by me. This party blows."

Rubbing his cheek with a scowl on his face, Jackson watched the couple leave. She deserved to know that the man she was engaged to wasn't trustworthy nor did he actually love her. Perhaps their relationship wasn't his business at all, but every time he hoped to win over April, he failed every time. He really hated himself for caring so much about her now.

* * *

**Let me know what you think please ;) Chapter 3 next week!**


	3. Second Thoughts

**Thank you for the reviews! Hope you like this next chapter :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Strolling through the hallway after picking up lab results for Torres, April was on her way to search for her resident to deliver the paperwork. Her path was blocked by Mark, who appeared miffed to see her. She stopped in front of him, swallowing hard and wondering what the plastics fellow wanted this time. Occasionally, he put her on his service solely to run errands for him and he was also extremely picky about how they should be done. However, the intern wasn't on his service that day, so what could he possibly be upset about?_

_"Dr. Kepner," he greeted her with a serious and deep tone to his voice, his hands behind his back. "May I have a word with you, please? It's about your post-op notes from yesterday."_

_"Umm… is there something wrong with them?" she nervously asked. For someone who constantly double or triple checked her work, she couldn't figure out what mistake she may have done._

_Mark slowly nodded. "It's sloppy. I've seen you write better notes," he answered disappointedly. "Come with me. Let me show you what exactly needs fixing."_

_April stood frozen as he turned and walked the opposite direction. "B-but I have to find Dr. Torres and give these lab results to her. She's waiting for these."_

_"Now, Kepner!" he shouted, startling her and drawing attention from the nurses' station nearby._

_Rather than get her head chewed off by the plastic surgeon, April hurriedly chased after him. He opened the door to an on-call room and she walked inside first. Closing the door behind him and locking it, Mark took the papers out of her hands and set them aside before he kissed her. After sneaking around for four months, she sometimes struggled to differentiate his work demands from fake excuses to be alone. The man had one hell of a poker face when they were in front of their coworkers._

_"Sorry about that," he mumbled against her lips. Mark pushed April's lab coat off of her shoulders as he deepened the kiss. "People are starting to suspect us. I needed to take you off the radar. Your notes are fine."_

_"You've been yelling at me for like a week now," she replied with a frown. "You're embarrassed to be seen with me, aren't you? I'm not like the type of women you go for. I don't have sexy model legs or the face of a supermodel-"_

_"It's not that I'm embarrassed, April. You're an intern and I'm your superior. This kind of relationship is frowned upon," he explained, tucking loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "I also don't want dumb interns crying favoritism when you're on my service. I've gotta treat you the way I treat them, so this is less obvious."_

_Even when Mark was sweet to her, she still couldn't understand what he saw in her. She took pride in being a reliable intern, but there were doctors in her group who were more attractive and less insecure about themselves, at least she believed so. He was unbelievably handsome with perfect teeth and hair. His body likely matched the rest of him, though she hadn't seen him out of his clothes._

_Sex became the huge elephant in the room whenever they were together. Being a virgin, April was hesitant to experience her first time with her secret boyfriend. The man was far from inexperienced and the thought of being terrible at it scared her. It was embarrassing enough that she had only kissed two men, including Mark, and her first kiss had been a disaster. Freshman year of college after an awkward date with Brad Kozinsky. Nice guy, nerdy like her. The kiss would have been less disgusting if he hadn't eagerly tried to shove his tongue into her mouth._

_The way Mark kissed her, definitely nothing like Brad. He made her feel things that she didn't know existed._

_"Why do you like me?" she timidly questioned. "The truth, please."_

_He pressed his palm against the wall just beside her head. "Why do _you_ think I like you?"_

_"Because… I put in the right amount of sugar in your coffee every time?" She bit down on her lower lip as he simply chuckled in response. "I honestly have no idea, Dr. Sloan."_

_"Dr. Sloan? Seriously?" Mark replied amusingly. "It's just the two of us in here. The professionalism is out the door at the moment. Okay, you want to know why I like you? You're different – I mean that in a good way. You're loyal and I appreciate that. For the record, it's not easy to earn my respect. I normally don't think highly of any interns, but I've made an exception with you. And regardless of what you think, you're cute."_

_"Cute? Like, little sister cute?"_

_"God, no. That almost sounds perverted," he answered with a laugh. Slipping his other hand underneath her scrubs, the touch of his fingers against her skin sent shivers down her spine. "I'd even call you hot if I could see what you're hiding under these baby blue scrubs."_

_April inhaled sharply as Mark lowered his head and kissed her neck. Their secret rendezvous mainly consisted of making out and heavy groping – mostly from him. Four months without any real action must be a personal record for him, she thought. Callie had told her many stories of him sleeping around with nurses and residents. It was strange of the plastic surgeon to not pressure her into having sex with him._

_"O-okay," she hesitantly responded._

_He pulled away from her and stared back at her confused. "Okay what?"_

_"We can umm…" She felt like a loser because she couldn't just say the word sex. At twenty five years old, she was acting as if sex was a forbidden word. "…you know."_

_A smile formed on his face, but he didn't want to appear too excited about it. He was aware of her virginity. She didn't have to tell him. His gut instinct just knew. "You sure?"_

_April nodded, gently pushing Mark towards the bed. "I am… not that I know what I'm doing."_

_After he removed his lab coat, he laid her down onto the bed and carefully climbed on top of her. "Relax, okay? I'll be good to you," the older man assured her before quieting her with a kiss._

* * *

April rolled over onto her side of the bed in her and Mark's hotel room. She pulled the covers tightly against her chest as she lay on her side, her back facing her fiancé's. Thinking sex would keep her mind off of Jackson for a while, it had done the opposite. Based on the sounds and words that came out of the plastic surgeon's mouth, he didn't seem to notice how uninterested she was. It was also disturbing that he had been cheering for himself _during_ the whole thing. He had become much more egotistical since her intern year.

"You were great, as always," Mark complimented, placing his hands underneath the back of his head as he stared at the ceiling. He grinned, turning his head to look at her. "I love you, babe."

"Love you too," she softly said, her voice partially cracking. Tears formed in her eyes as she thought about how he only seemed genuinely happy with her after a round of sex.

One of the many qualities he had appreciated early on in their relationship was her performance in bed. She surprised him during their first time, quickly learning what he enjoyed and showing a wilder side by becoming the dominant person under the covers. In the beginning, she had been uncomfortable, but once she relaxed, she knew exactly what to do. Innocent on the outside, yet a dirty kitten on the inside, he used to joke.

But for a few months now, April had started to think the sex wasn't enough anymore. The "I Love You's" didn't sound sincere to her. Mark had forgotten their most recent anniversary as a couple. On her 28th birthday, he was away at a conference in New York and sent roses a day late.

She was positive he had cheated on her multiple times. Of course her closest friends wondered, why would she stay with him if that was the case?

Because she was afraid of being alone again. It took her twenty five years to find a boyfriend, one who appreciated her for who she was – at least he used to. Her self-esteem had improved since she began dating Mark, but now, her insecurities were resurfacing. Their relationship changed over the years, yet she thought they were returning to their old days when he proposed to her a month earlier. She truly didn't expect it, especially after he had just carelessly sent her a belated birthday present.

The redhead wasn't quite sure why she couldn't grow a backbone against him. Maybe it was the age difference and he was still sort of her boss at work. There were too many fears to worry about and she hated worrying so much. It only added to her stress, which made her moody and it created unnecessary arguments with Mark. If it weren't for her supposed "talents" in bed, he would have dropped her in a heartbeat. And she hated thinking that.

Jackson figured out easily how unhealthy their relationship was. April had no idea what her fiancé had told him, but he clearly disliked the man. She regretted slapping him at the bar because he was only trying to help her. On the other hand, she didn't want his pity – if that was what it was. He did appear to be interested in her, but she also reminded herself of the times in high school that he ignored her or used her for his friends' entertainment. However, ten years later, he seemed like a decent man.

But she knew nothing about the current Jackson Avery other than the basic facts and vice versa. If Mark hadn't joined her on the trip – and he almost didn't because high school reunions weren't his thing – she probably would have stayed at the Emerald City Bar much longer to get to know him better. The engagement ring hadn't scared him off, but the slap might have.

April shut her eyes just as a tear trickled across the bridge of her nose. She covered her mouth with her hand hoping Mark wouldn't hear any muffled sobs from his place on the bed. Reunion weekend only revealed her unhappiness even more, though she didn't want anybody to see just how miserable she felt. It was almost like she was in denial.

Her parents didn't even like her future husband. Her stepfather and mother were skeptical of his intentions when they first met him two years ago. And her sisters weren't convinced they were right for each other. She brushed off their opinions at the time because she was happy with him. The couple was scheduled to have lunch with her family Sunday afternoon before hopping on a flight back to Miami. As much as she loved her family, she wasn't looking forward to them eying Mark suspiciously and making snide comments about their relationship.

Mark crawled across the bed and settled right behind her. He ran his fingertips along her arm and kissed her shoulder. "Want to go again? I've got plenty of energy left for you."

"Umm… actually, I-I I'm really tired," she answered, clearing her throat afterwards. "And… I'm feeling some jet lag from our flight this morning."

"Well, I'm going to check if the gym is still open downstairs then," he casually replied and climbed out of bed. Stopping in front of the bed, he smirked at her. "Don't you still have to write some boring speech for tomorrow night's dinner?"

April slowly nodded without making eye contact with her fiancé. "Yes. I should get on that, huh?" She was fortunate the lights were off in their hotel room. The darkness hid her tears and sadness well.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone, so you can work on that," he insisted before grabbing workout clothes from his luggage and disappearing into the bathroom. A few minutes later, Mark returned to their bedroom fully dressed. "I'm probably gonna buy some food afterwards. Want anything? A salad?"

"I'm okay, Mark. Thank you," she said, forcing a smile.

He had his sweet and caring moments, but those sides of him didn't show as often as they used to. April waited until he left their hotel room to finally break down and cry into her pillow.

Ten years ago, she was the sad, lonely nerd. Ten years later, she was beginning to feel like the same sad and lonely nerd all over again.

* * *

The following morning, April's cousin picked her up from her hotel for brunch. George O'Malley was a grade below hers when they attended Seattle Grace Academy. A nerd like the redhead, but more outgoing than she was. A member of various science and academic clubs and now he taught Calculus and Geometry at their former high school. They were each other's confidant for anything. She considered him to be her best friend throughout their childhood and adolescence, and she needed his advice more than ever.

"How was Joe's last night?" he inquired. "Anybody look drastically different?"

"You mean, besides myself?" she quipped, sharing a laugh with him. "I don't know. I didn't stay long enough to find out. I was there for less than an hour before I bailed with Mark, but I _did_ catch someone's attention. Definitely never expected it either."

"Who?"

April shyly ducked her head while she sipped from her glass of water. "Jackson Avery," she murmured. "He umm… he approached me last night. I thought he was trying to mess with my head, but I think he was sincerely interested in me."

George raised both of his eyebrows and softly chuckled. "The same Jackson Avery who gave me wedgies for two years?" He watched her quietly nod. "You crushed on him all through high school… even though he thought you were a loser."

"Thank you for reminding me," she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, he obviously doesn't think of me as a loser anymore since _he_ approached me first and wanted to talk to me. He told me I was beautiful."

"Are you sure he didn't just want to sleep with you?"

"Yes! Jackson said he wanted to get to know me and…" April leaned forward and whispered. "He could tell Mark wasn't the guy he used to be and he only met him last night."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why are you whispering? Mark's not even here."

The surgeon sat upright, sheepishly smiling at her cousin. "I don't know," she admitted, her cheeks slightly turning red. "Back to the original topic – Mark is an asshole."

George pursed his lips and fought the urge to laugh. "You don't have to tell me twice. No offense, April, but I never liked him. Maybe he was a nice guy once. Otherwise, you wouldn't have dated him at all. However, he treats you like crap. We all saw it immediately except for you," he straightforwardly said. "As your favorite cousin and your best friend, you need to hear this. You deserve so much better than that jerk."

"You're not the first person to tell me this," April muttered. "Jackson told me the same thing last night too. Then, I slapped him."

"Really? You actually hit a person?"

"I feel bad about it, okay? Because he was right, but I didn't want him to know that half of my life is a lie," she explained with a frown. "He's this famous NFL player and… I don't know. I didn't want to feel like he needed to rescue me or whatever. He barely knows anything about me, George. All of a sudden I'm supposed to spill every personal detail about myself to him? I might as well blurt out my entire life story at the dinner instead of reciting the boring speech I wrote."

"Will you be talking about the Civil War again?" George teasingly asked, drawing a scowl from April. "If you want my opinion, it wasn't a bad speech. You could've at least mentioned things related to your class, though."

She softly groaned. "I had one, maybe two real friends back then. Friendships or the importance of keeping in touch after high school wasn't a subject I was interested in talking about."

"So, what are you going to do when you see Jackson again?" he asked, changing the subject. "Will you be avoiding him or what?"

"I probably won't have to worry about avoiding him since _he_ will likely be avoiding _me_," April answered dejectedly, slumping her shoulders as she rested her arms on top of the table. "I slapped him in front of dozens of people. Why did he have to be so charming and sweet and… ridiculously handsome? And he was so nice to me. He didn't care that I was engaged _and_ he didn't use his fame to his advantage. Jackson's attitude was nothing like how it was when we were teenagers."

George quickly shrugged. "Well, if that's the case, then go for it," he advised, grinning back at her. "Dump your bastard fiancé and hop on the Avery train."

Reaching across the table, she lightly smacked his shoulder. "It's not that simple," the redhead retorted. "It's not like I completely loathe Mark. I fell in love with him. I do love him… I think."

"You _think_?" He shook his head disappointedly. "April, if you're not even sure how you feel about him, then I don't think it's love. You've always been the type to fall in love with love because of all of those Molly Ringwald movies you watched every weekend. Try not to confuse that with actually being _in_ love."

Deep down, April wanted to punch George in the face not because she disagreed with him but because he made perfect sense to her. He had always been the wise owl between the two of them when it came to friendly advice. Her younger cousin was almost never wrong. Aside from her stepfather, he was also the only man she knew who gave logical advice. Whenever she had been too stubborn to listen to her sisters, she turned to George instead.

"You never fail to be right," she sighed, then her face changed into a pout. "I really hate you for that."

He proudly smiled as he neatly fixed the collar of his shirt. "I'm gifted, I know."

"Do you think I should try to talk to Jackson again? Be honest with me."

"Yeah, why not?" George confidently replied. "What if he turns out to be that guy you're meant to be with? He's getting a second chance to fix his mistakes with you, while you're getting a second chance to be with the guy who doesn't think you're invisible anymore. How ideal is that?"

"Too ideal, in my opinion," April unenthusiastically answered. "And he lives in San Francisco, while I live in Miami. We might as well live in separate countries after this weekend."

"First, stop being a Negative Nancy. Instead of thinking about the worst case scenarios, just enjoy the rest of this weekend and be brave," he suggested. "Do you really want to wait until your 25-year reunion to realize you missed out because you were scared?"

She let his last comment sink in for a moment. What if fifteen years from now, she was miserably married to Mark or worse – single and alone?

April knew it was time to step up or risk being a coward forever. Grow a spine, show some confidence for once. It sounded much easier to do in her head. Now she just needed to act on it.

* * *

_Welcome Back, Class of 2003!_

A large, navy and baby blue banner hung above the doorway of Seattle Grace Academy's gymnasium. Jackson briefly scanned the over glittered decoration as he entered the building filled with fond memories. He had won four straight state titles in basketball during his time at the school. The locker room had been one of his favorite spots to makeout with Lexie before practice. He spent a lot of his free time bulking up in the weight room on the second floor.

Looking back at his high school years, he really loved it. But when he was eighteen, he had envisioned attending his 10-year high school reunion with his ex-girlfriend by his side, maybe already married with children like their friends. Instead, the pretty boy showed up alone. The event was semi-formal, so he ditched the dress jacket and arrived wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, along with black pants and shoes. He had no idea where his friends were, but his priority was April.

Regardless of the slap from the previous night, he knew somewhere deep inside of her that she was aware of the fact that he was right. The evidence was in front of him. Mark acted like a man who superficially cared about April rather than all of her. He wanted her to see that his feelings weren't pity. She deserved better and he thought maybe, just maybe he could be that man for her – if she ever spoke to him again.

He scanned the entire room for her, but she hadn't arrived yet. Being one of the earlier arrivals, Jackson decided to search for his table. Table number eight, his lucky number in football. Wore forty four in basketball. Coincidence or not, he believed this was a sign of good things to come. Unsurprisingly, he was assigned to the same table as his old friends and he wondered where April was seated. Searching for her name card, he casually strolled through the open spaces.

Finally, he spotted the ever so coveted name card. "Ah, there you are," the football player gleefully murmured to himself. Picking up hers and Mark's guest card, he returned to his table and chose to replace two of his classmates' names with theirs. "Sorry… Holden Fields and Suzy Quinn, but you've been moved to table two."

After he swapped the cards, Jackson went to the open bar for a drink. While the bartender prepared a glass of whiskey for him, he heard a woman clear her throat from behind. Turning around, he initially missed the short, gray haired woman standing in front of him. He lowered his head and smiled at his former principal. "Hey, Principal Bailey. How are you?"

"Mr. Avery," Principal Bailey sternly replied, making him nervous. "A word, please?"

Crap. She must have found out about the table switch, he thought.

"Umm, yes?"

Principal Bailey revealed a football from behind her back and brightly grinned at Jackson. "I don't mean to bother you with this, but do you mind signing this for my grandson? He's a huge fan of yours. He says I'm his favorite grandmother because you attended my school."

"Oh," he softly chuckled and graciously took the football from her. "Sure, it's no problem. I thought I was in trouble for something."

"Oh, no. I just wanted to scare you a bit with my principal tone one last time," she confessed, handing him a silver Sharpie. "My grandson's name is Tuck."

Jackson wrote a small message and signed the football before giving it back to Principal Bailey. "Here you go, ma'am."

"Thank you, Jackson. My grandson will be the happiest 7-year old in his class. Have you thought about moving back up here during the free agency period? The Seahawks could use some help in the wide receivers department," she inquired.

"I love San Francisco, though I'm beginning to lean towards Miami," he truthfully answered.

"Miami?" the older woman replied skeptically. "What's in Miami?"

Jackson bashfully smiled, holding back his secret crush on the class valedictorian. "A bunch of stuff. It's just a thought for now. I may stay put with the Niners."

"You're a class act, young man. Have a nice night," she politely said, then she pointed her finger at him. "Don't drink too much now. The party hasn't even started yet."

He watched her walk away as she smiled down at the signed football and snickered. Principal Bailey always had a soft spot for him, except for the time he accidentally burned April's beret. But even he had to admit that she scared the crap out of him during her mood swings.

Taking his whiskey with him, Jackson walked into the lobby to look at the various trophies and awards won over the years. His name was engraved on a handful of MVP awards and team photos of the basketball and football state champions were displayed in a glass cabinet. He looked at his teenage self, smiling at how flimsy he appeared compared to now. Charles had been a little bit on the chubby side and Alex tried to make himself look taller by standing on his tip toes. In retrospect, they all had a small loser side to them.

"Look at you guys. You were all stick figures," Izzie teasingly pointed out from behind. She and Alex had just arrived and found their friend in the lobby.

"Are you kidding? Percy was a fat ass," her husband bluntly responded causing the threesome to laugh. Alex examined the team photos closely. "Damn, we look like freaking babies."

"Speaking of babies, did Reed pop last night?" Jackson curiously asked. Their pregnant friend had experienced contractions at the bar, but Charles had been too intoxicated to drive, so the Karevs offered to drive them to the hospital.

Izzie shook her head. "Nope. False alarm. They'll be here tonight." She glanced at the pretty boy's cheek and softly laughed. "How's your face? April sort of gave you the slap heard 'round the world."

He rolled his eyes, slightly smiling. "It's fine. It didn't bruise or anything."

"Are you ever gonna tell us what the hell that slap was about?" Alex inquired. His best friend had kept quiet about why April slapped him in the first place. "Dude, I bet she had a good reason to. You asked her to sleep with you, huh?"

"No," Jackson answered through gritted teeth and sipped his whiskey. "I just said some unfavorable comments about her dickhead fiancé. She didn't want to hear it, so she snapped at me."

The police officer nodded his head. "That guy did look a little sleazy. Who knew that was Kepner's type?"

"He's a plastic surgeon at the same hospital she works at," he bitterly stated. "I can tell she's not happy. Her body language said it all. I just wish she would admit that to herself. I wish she could've seen how sad she looked last night."

"You really, really like her," Izzie noted with a grin on her face. "Wow, after small conversation, you're already falling for April. That's so sweet."

"The woman probably hates me now," Jackson scoffed. "But she can't avoid me the entire night. She's sitting at our table."

Alex chuckled and firmly patted his best friend's back. "You sneaky schmuck! You made sure she sat with us," he said in amusement. "Holy crap, this is gonna be so fun. I wonder how she's gonna react to being at the same table as us. Hell, I want to meet this fiancé of hers."

"Don't make a big deal about it, Karev. I don't want her to suspect anything."

"Dude, she's already gonna suspect when she realizes she's sitting with us. C'mon, that's totally not a coincidence. She was our valedictorian. She's not a freaking dumbass."

"Just shut up and don't make it obvious, alright? Let's go inside."

The threesome entered the gymnasium and occupied their table. More former classmates started to arrive, so the mood grew livelier as each person arrived. A DJ played music from 2003 at the removable stage located at one end of the room. Dinner was scheduled to start in forty five minutes, but April hadn't arrived yet, making Jackson more impatient than ever.

He picked up his glass of water and drank it as the woman of the hour finally appeared in the doorway. The redheaded woman arrived wearing a short and strapless, emerald green dress that cut off just above her knees. Her auburn locks were curled and his eyes were glued to her body.

"Avery, you're spilling water on yourself," Alex announced.

Jackson had been caught up in staring at April that he hadn't noticed the glass was no longer touching his lips. He jumped up, brushing his wet crotch with his hand. "Shit!" Setting his glass on the table, he hurriedly walked away. "I'll be right back."

The brunette man smirked as he watched him disappear into the men's restroom. "What a doofus," he jokingly said, gazing at April from afar. "Then again, I don't blame him for being so clumsy."

Izzie slapped his arm and glared at him. "Stop looking."

Across the gymnasium, April folded her arms against her chest as she stood alone near the entrance. Mark was busy parking the car, so she felt insecure about appearing like a loner. Gently biting down on her lower lip, she searched the area for a familiar face she could mingle with. Even Principal Bailey would do.

Fortunately, the older woman spotted her first and quickly approached her. "April Kepner, is that you?" she happily greeted the former nerd and gave her a hug. "Well, you certainly grew up."

"It's nice to see you too, Principal Bailey," the surgeon shyly responded.

"How are you, sweetie?" she asked, squeezing April's hand. "I hear you're a surgeon now. I always knew you'd grow up to become something extraordinary."

April proudly nodded. "Yes, I'm a surgical resident in Miami. I've loved every second of it."

"And you have your speech prepared for later?"

"I do." She was hardly excited about having to do her speech because half of her class most likely wouldn't be listening to her anyway. "It's supposed to be after dinner, right?"

Principal Bailey nodded. "You are correct. Anyway, enjoy yourself, _Dr._ Kepner," she enthusiastically said before walking past her.

April felt her nerves kicking in, so she rushed towards the bar and ordered herself a glass of wine. Coming out of the men's restroom was Jackson after he dried the front of his pants. He noticed her standing alone at the bar and jumped at the opportunity to talk to her. Slipping his hands inside of his pockets, he calmly approached her and stood beside her.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile.

She sipped her wine and smiled back at him. "Hi, Jackson. I-I I'm surprised you're speaking to me."

"Really? _I'm_ surprised you're speaking to _me_," Jackson repeated. He laughed, running his hand across his shaved head. "I assumed you'd still be pissed at me for what I said last night. I'm sorry about that."

"Actually, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have slapped you. It was out of line," April insisted, sipping her wine again. She sheepishly glanced down at her glass. "I don't normally act like that. You're the first person I ever hit."

"Consider me honored," he quipped, making her laugh. Jackson scanned her body once more. Her dress was tight, showing off her slender curves. He tried his best to control himself, but when she looked like _that_ it was extremely difficult. "You look very nice."

Looking back at him, she nodded her head towards him. "So do you."

"Where's umm… your fiancé?"

"He's parking the car, maybe stalling and calling work," April muttered, taking another drink from her glass.

"I'd slow down if I were you," he warned her, moving the glass away from her. "How am I supposed to learn more about you if you're wasted?"

She could feel the warmth in her cheeks rushing in, partially from the alcohol and his charm. "I'm nervous about my speech. I drink when I'm nervous, so… I'm trying to relax myself."

"You'll do great. At least you don't feel like you're about to faint when there's a camera in your face." Jackson pointed at himself. "I'm not sure what it is about the cameras, but press conferences are the worst. There are dozens of cameras on me. It's uncomfortable."

"I always thought you were a composed guy."

"Not all the time." He leaned closer to her, flashing his charming smile. "And it's hard to feel composed around you. I don't think you realize how much of an effect you have on me."

April reached for her wine glass, but Jackson snatched it away before she could grab it. "I'm not sure I follow you," she timidly replied. "What… _effect_ are you referring to?"

He took a sip from her glass. "You know that effect – your heart beats faster when that special person walks into the room, you can't keep your eyes off of 'em and all you want to do… is kiss their lips."

She hesitated to respond, fidgeting with the strap of her purse and struggling to maintain eye contact with him. The man knew how to flirt really, really well. "I-I'm engaged, Jackson."

"That doesn't bother me," the football player countered. "Honestly, it doesn't because I know you wish you could be happier. I can see it in your eyes, April. That Sloan guy isn't making you as happy as you want him to."

Taking her glass from him, April sighed in frustration. "I'm going to find my table."

Jackson smugly grinned. "I can walk you there. We're both seated at table eight."

"So you're stalking me now?" she agitatedly questioned, placing her hand against her hip.

"I don't stalk. I pursue," he corrected her, softly laughing when she rolled her eyes at him. "Admit it. You think this is flattering. That rock on your finger is what's holding you back from being honest with me."

April groaned and stepped in front of Jackson. Their bodies were inches away from each other. "You want to know the truth? Fine. You're more handsome than you were in high school. I still find you attractive, but we would never work out and it's not because I'm engaged to my boss."

"And why wouldn't we work out?"

"Because I'm a surgeon who works long hours. I don't have much of a life outside of surgery and Mark understands that," she explained. "I also live all the way across the country. I'm always busy. You have your own life too."

"So? You're a surgeon. You should know what it feels like to be challenged every day." Jackson gestured his hand back and forth between them. "Me and you? That's a challenge. Mark isn't a challenge for you."

She guffawed at his comments. "What are you even talking about? Since when did you become an expert on my relationship with my fiancé?"

"I'm not, but am I right so far?"

April tilted her head up and let out a sigh. "This is weird for me, okay? I'm not used to people wanting me. I'm definitely not used to somebody walking up to me and saying, 'Hey, baby. I think you're beautiful'," she explained, making Jackson smile at her bad attempt of a man's voice. "It took a very long time for somebody to actually want _me_. I was never the girl that got picked at the dance. My mother forced me to go to them thinking I'd make friends, but it did the opposite for me. I just sat in the corner, staring at my older sister's hand me down dress and waiting for it all to be over. So when somebody says they want me I have a hard time believing it because it just doesn't happen to me."

"Well, I want you. I know we don't know each other very well, but I do want you." He checked the time on his watch. Plenty of time to spare before dinner. "Do you want to go somewhere and talk for a while?"

She quickly scanned the gymnasium for Mark, who was nowhere to be found, and shyly smiled back at him. "Yes. I'd like that."

* * *

They had wandered out of the gym and found access into the academy's main building. As they slowly strolled through the empty hallways, Jackson and April both noticed how different their high school looked. New paint job, sturdier lockers, a fancier library. One of the classrooms happened to be unlocked, so they went inside. She took a seat on the teacher's desk, kicking off the heels that had been killing her feet since she left her hotel. He sat across from her in one of the small desks he barely fit into.

The two of them discussed anything that popped up in their heads. Favorites, pet peeves, family stories. Reminiscing about high school wasn't a topic April personally wanted to bring up since there weren't many fond memories she could share with Jackson. She preferred listening to him talk about his glory days in athletics, despite the fact he felt embarrassed because he didn't want to come off as a bragger.

So he briefly recalled the game winning shot against Mercy West in the state finals during their senior year, remembering he had battled the stomach flu earlier that week and almost couldn't play in the game. Afterwards, he had ran off to the nearest restroom to vomit thanks to a mixture of his illness and the excitement of winning a fourth straight championship.

"I was there," she admitted.

"Really?" Jackson replied, raising both of his eyebrows. "No offense, but I didn't think you were the type who attended our school's sporting events."

"I wasn't, but my sister Kimmie was a freshman at the time and she really wanted to go, so my parents forced me to drive her." She thought back to how awkward she felt being at the basketball game without anybody to talk to. Her younger sister had ditched her to sit with her own set of friends. "I sat all the way up in the last row of the lower level in KeyArena doing homework. God, I was such a freak."

"Did you watch the game at all?"

April nodded. "A little bit. I mean, I mostly just watched you, but I wouldn't have been able to admit that then," she sheepishly responded, biting down on her lower lip. "Okay, so you won a bunch of state championships for Seattle Grace. I, on the other hand, won science fairs."

Jackson smiled. "That's nothing to be ashamed about."

"I never said I was. I was proud of myself whenever I won. It made me feel like I had a purpose in life."

"What was your favorite science project?"

"Umm… junior year, I created this prosthetic limb from scratch. I hooked my brain up to an EEG scanner to test out a method of improving mind-controlled prosthetic limbs, then I used the data to clarify how to improve its efficiency."

"And did it work?"

She softly laughed. "It bought me a trip to Nationals, but I only won third place."

"_Only_ third place?" he asked amusingly. "Third place out of thousands of people is a major accomplishment."

"Yeah, I know, but I was hoping for the grand prize – full scholarship to Harvard. I had already gotten in through early admissions, so my goal was to win that."

"You still went to Harvard, though."

"For medical school and not on a full scholarship. I did get a partial scholarship, but to this day, I'm still paying off some student loans from Stanford and medical school," April muttered. "Money didn't grow on trees for my family, so my parents couldn't afford all of the tuition. Mark offered to pay it all off for me, but I want to prove that I can do this on my own."

Jackson stood up and joined her at the desk, sitting beside the redhead. "Sounds like you're doing just fine."

"You mean, I _look_ like I'm fine, right?" she corrected him and sighed. "I'm not fine."

"Are you okay talking about it?"

"I thought you already figured me out, that I'm unhappy," the surgeon reminded him. She stared down at her lap with a frown on her face. "I think he cheats on me. All the time. I'm too much of a coward to confront him because I worry he'll ruin my surgical career. He has enough power over what happens to me at work. When he says, 'I love you', I don't believe he means it."

"You should leave him, April," Jackson suggested. "And I'm not saying this because I want you. If the guy's being unfaithful to you, then you need to move on. You don't deserve his shit at all. Be with someone who wants _you_ and nobody else. Be with someone who will make you happy."

Glancing up at him, April sadly smiled. "I crushed on you for four years," she tearfully said. "I used to have this delusional idea that you'd suddenly come around and notice me at one of the dances. Maybe ask me to dance just once, but I knew it would never happen because you hated me. So instead, I would just daydream and pretend I was in a fairy tale and you'd be my Prince Charming until it was time to go home."

The pretty boy placed his hand on top of hers, interlocking their fingers together. "I never hated you. I just… thought you were different and bashed you for it. You were probably a better person than I was in high school." He slowly scooted closer to her. "Do you believe in second chances?"

She cleared her throat as a tear trickled down her cheek. "Sometimes. I hardly get first chances to begin with."

Jackson reached up with his free hand and wiped away her tear. He gently stroked her cheek, moving downward and running his thumb across her bottom lip. "I'm not exactly sure if this is my first or second chance, but I'm going to kiss you right now," he smoothly stated. "If you'll let me."

April surprised him when she leaned forward first and pressed her lips against his. She grasped the back of his neck as he placed one hand against her lower back, while the other cupped the back of her head and his fingers entangled with her auburn locks. He carefully lowered her onto the desk, deepening the kiss and groaning when she tenderly bit on his bottom lip.

His hand traveled down to her thigh as he kissed her neck. One specific spot on the left side drew a moan from her. Her breathing grew heavy when Jackson's hand slipped underneath her dress and gradually moved upward. He caressed her inner thigh, devouring her mouth again. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she wrapped a leg around his waist.

In the back of April's mind, making out on a teacher's desk could easily have been one of Jackson's ultimate fantasies, except maybe not with her. Hell, she had fantasized about it at least once during her high school years – and then instantly regretted it when she realized the teacher she had been thinking about played for the other team.

Her cell phone set off a notification, forcing her to push him off of her as she sat up on the desk. She scrambled to find her cell phone in her purse as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to catch her breath. After she retrieved it, she found a text message from Mark.

_Where the hell are you? Dinner's about to start._

"We- we should go," she stammered, sliding off of the desk and slipping on her heels. "We don't want to be late for dinner."

Jackson adjusted the collar of his shirt, half-smiling at April. "You're a great kisser." He rested his hands against her hips, pulling her towards him. "And tonight, I want all of my dances to be with you."

She shyly ducked her head as her rosy cheeks became more visible. "Let's go."

He watched her rush out of the classroom, then he chased after her and matched her stride. They returned to the gymnasium acting casual and innocent. By then, April's cheeks had returned to her normal pale complexion. She sat down beside Mark, who immediately threw his arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"The food better be worth it," her fiancé brusquely said.

But April barely paid attention to what Mark had to say. Her eyes were focused across the table at Jackson, who returned the glance with a small smile on his face. She felt flutters in her stomach as she stared at his gorgeous face, a feeling she hadn't felt since she was a surgical intern.

The dinner portion of the reunion was going to be unbearable for the both of them.

* * *

**Until next week! Your feedback is appreciated :)**


	4. Your Body Is A Wonderland

**Thank you for the reviews! Really glad you're enjoying this story :) I've also decided to extend this fic to seven chapters, so I'm not rushing the storyline. So, this chapter is for Hidge. She knows why lol.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The gymnasium was filled with about three hundred people with some former students bringing their significant others to the second portion of the high school reunion. Seattle Grace Academy was a private institution with smaller class sizes, so everybody somewhat knew everybody by a first name basis whether or not they were friends. It was easy to differentiate who belonged in specific cliques.

Despite lacking friends, people were aware of April and her incredibly smart brain. Her problem was she lacked confidence in opening up to her peers, so making friends was impossible for her. When her older sister Libby attended the school she pretended they weren't related, which hadn't helped with her self-esteem. And her quirky behavior around the teachers only gave her classmates a reason to laugh at her.

But now, people were paying attention to her for a different reason. She had overheard somebody call her a bombshell on her way to her table. Other men were casually checking her out as she passed by. The redheaded surgeon wasn't used to all of the attention she was suddenly receiving it. Hell, the attention was more than she had been getting from her own fiancé in the past week. And Jackson's charming demeanor made her feel better about attending reunion weekend.

There were many stolen glances between them from the moment they took their seats at their table. Sitting directly across from each other made it extremely difficult to avoid direct eye contact, especially with the way the pretty boy constantly stared at her during dinner. Fortunately, Mark hadn't noticed the obvious eye sex between the two former classmates. To her dismay, he had been paying close attention to his cell phone. Even in Seattle, he was working, ensuring the residents he assigned to his cases weren't screwing up. In a way, April was relieved his annoying habit created a distraction from seeing her making googly eyes with another man.

She thought she would feel guilty about kissing a man who wasn't her fiancé, but it made her feel the opposite. For months, she knew all wasn't well in Kepner-Sloan world. Her unhappiness had been bottled up inside for too long that finally admitting the truth to someone felt good, and to someone who wanted to listen. Perhaps Jackson was the man who could make her happy. They still barely knew each other on a personal level, but so far, being around him hadn't made her feel worthless.

Principal Bailey stepped onto the stage and stood behind a podium. "Good evening, class of 2003. Welcome to your 10-year high school reunion," she enthusiastically greeted them, drawing applause and some cheers from the crowd. "It's hard to believe that ten years have passed since you all graduated and it still feels like yesterday that you were roaming through the hallways of Seattle Grace Academy. It's refreshing to see my former students grown up and successful with their jobs or happily married. I'm very proud of everyone."

April knew what was coming next – her speech. She had written a page of what she planned to say, but now she wasn't so sure about delivering her handwritten speech. And she hardly wanted to bore her former classmates with her rambles. Her heart started pounding faster as Principal Bailey was ready to introduce the class valedictorian.

"Finally, I'm pleased to introduce the valedictorian of your graduating class," the older woman started. "She's currently a surgical resident at the University of Miami Hospital, so let's give a round of applause for Dr. April Kepner!"

To the redhead's surprise, her peers actually clapped proudly for her as she stood up and slowly approached the stage. There were even some suggestive whistles from other men that made her blush. She joined Principal Bailey behind the podium and she nervously smiled at the hundreds of people staring at her. However, she immediately noticed one person who clearly wasn't paying attention – Mark. He was looking down at his cell phone as if he lived in a soundproof bubble.

At least Jackson was staring at her, smiling brightly from his seat. His eyes never left her from the second she had gotten up to when she stood on the stage.

"Well, umm… good evening, everybody. I had this whole speech prepared, but I decided to ditch it. I'm sure none of you really want to listen to me ramble about the Civil War again," she quipped, drawing laughs from the crowd. "So, I'm just going to say whatever's currently on my mind. To be honest, this is incredibly awkward for me because a lot of you didn't know me very well and vice versa, so you're probably thinking, 'Why should we listen to this girl?'. Believe me, I'm standing up here wondering why any of you would want to."

"Because you're hot!" a random guy shouted, making their classmates laugh again.

Jackson furrowed his eyebrows towards where the voice came from. He found himself becoming possessive with April even though they weren't together. The selfish side of him believed he staked claims on her first, despite how shallow that sounded in his head.

She forced herself to laugh and cleared her throat. "Okay, that brings me to my first point. I know the majority of the people here came to this reunion to find out who changed the most, stayed the same or became rich and famous. There's nothing wrong with being curious to see how your classmates turned out, especially if you've lost touch with them over the years. And this weekend was also the opportunity for people who wanted a second chance to change past wrongs into rights and maybe walk away from this experience feeling satisfied that they were able to do so."

The pretty boy quickly figured out that she had been referring to himself, especially since they were making direct eye contact during her last comment. She wanted him. He could see it on her face and he couldn't stop smiling.

Alex leaned close to his best friend with a smirk on his face. "Dude, you're gonna rip a hole in your pants if you keep staring at Kepner like you want to have sex with her," he teased. "Or maybe you already did."

Jackson jabbed his side with his elbow and glared back at him. "Shut up. Do you want her fiancé to hear you?" he whispered, glancing up at Mark. The plastic surgeon was staring him down, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. He was positive the older man had overheard what Alex had said.

"Whoops," the police officer murmured, fighting back a smile as he sat upright in his seat.

"Ass," he muttered to Alex before returning his gaze back to April.

April hadn't noticed the unspoken exchange between Mark and Jackson as she continued her speech. "Friendships come and go, but at the same time, creating new friendships is a possibility. Maybe you'll eventually realize you have much more in common with certain people now than you did then. So tonight, I propose each of us make at least one new friend. Build a bridge and keep it intact. Who knows when you'll see each other again? Anyway, I hope everybody enjoys themselves tonight and let's make this reunion one to remember."

At the conclusion of her speech, she proudly stepped down from the stage while her former classmates applauded once more. When she returned to her seat she was caught off-guard by her fiancé, who suddenly grasped the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. Her eyes widened when he forcibly slipped his tongue into her mouth. The kiss wasn't romantic at all, but it felt rather sloppy and territorial.

Jackson inhaled sharply as he watched Mark attempt to eat April's face. The rest of his friends weren't impressed either. Izzie appeared as if she wanted to vomit her dinner, while Alex looked away with a scowl on his face. Reed glanced down at her pregnant belly and Charles decided to steal extra food from the plate beside his. The only person who seemed amused by it all was Lexie. She knew what the plastic surgeon's intentions were. Her ex-boyfriend wasn't going to get away with flirting with someone else's fiancée that easily.

April pressed her hands against Mark's chest as she gently pushed him away from her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her cheeks were a dark shade of red from embarrassment. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to show some love for my girl," he insisted, throwing his arm over her shoulder. "That speech was pretty damn good."

_You weren't even listening, asshole,_ Jackson mentally said. He noticed the discomfort on her face and he wished he could kick the guy's ass front and center. He couldn't care less if Alex had to arrest him. Nobody messed with Jackson Avery.

Lexie smiled at the couple. "When is your wedding?" she inquired.

"Umm… there's no date yet," April timidly answered. "We only got engaged last month."

"You two make such a cute couple," the brunette woman complimented. "And you met each other at work?"

"Indeed. April was this shy intern, but I managed to break her out of her shell," Mark gloated, grinning at Lexie. He rubbed his fiancée's shoulder, though that wasn't making her feel any better. "Let me tell you, she's going to be a fine orthopedic surgeon. Plastics would've been great, but two Sloans in charge of two different departments in the hospital is better."

"Except I'm keeping Kepner," April chimed in.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "I thought you said you decided on Kepner-Sloan."

The redhead softly laughed and shook her head. "I never said that." She reached for her water and took a sip. Her eyes met Jackson's and he sighed. She suspected something happened at their table because Mark's behavior changed, like he suddenly remembered her existence.

"Any ideas for wedding locations?" Lexie questioned. She briefly glanced over at Jackson knowing how annoyed he was at that moment.

Mark shrugged. "Maybe New York? That's where I'm from. My parents own property in the Hamptons. It could be an ideal location for a wedding," he suggested. "April will probably campaign for Seattle, but the chance of our wedding being interrupted by rain is too high."

"Well, most of my family resides here. It would save them money having to fly across the country," April politely argued. She felt irritated by him because they hadn't talked about wedding plans at all until Lexie brought up the topic. He was showing off on purpose and she hated it.

"You know, if you two decide to get married in New York, I wouldn't mind giving you guys free tickets to one of my shows," Lexie offered with a smile. The Broadway actress winked at her former classmate. "Consider this a generous wedding gift."

The plastic surgeon nodded in approval. "That sounds like a sweet deal. April's one of those theater nerds," he noted, extending his hand out to Lexie. "And your name is?"

"Lexie Grey," she introduced herself, shaking Mark's hand. "Wow, you have a strong grip. Beautiful hand too, but what was I thinking? You're a surgeon. I shouldn't be surprised."

Rather than release her hand from his grip, the older man ran his thumb along the back of her hand and her knuckles. "And you have very smooth hands," he complimented. "Say, if you're ever down in Miami, I don't mind offering a free consult. Then again, it doesn't appear to me you need any work done on yourself."

Jackson clenched his jaw as he watched Mark flirt with Lexie in front of everyone. His fiancée was sitting beside him and acted like she couldn't care less. April tried her best to keep her composure, but she clearly looked offended and hurt. If that was how she was going to be treated, then two could play at that game, he thought.

"April, do you want to dance?" he politely asked after noticing other people already invading the dance floor in the middle of the gymnasium.

Before she could respond, Mark intervened. "That sounds like a good idea," he agreed, standing up and taking April's hand. He almost had to force her to get up from her seat. "C'mon, babe. We might as well do something at this reunion besides sitting around."

"What a douche," Izzie said, shaking her head in disgust after the couple left their table.

"That man is so hot," Lexie stated. She noticed the unimpressed stares from her friends and she nonchalantly shrugged. "What? I'm not allowed to say an unavailable man is hot? Look at Jackson. He's been drooling over April, despite the fact that she's engaged to someone else."

"At least I haven't been flirting with her _in front of Mark_," the pretty boy retorted. His eyes glanced over at the two surgeons, who were slow dancing. Their bodies were closely touching each other, mainly due to Mark practically bear hugging her. Jackson rolled his eyes when the other man reached down and rested his hand on April's butt. "God, I hate that guy."

* * *

An hour had passed since the dinner ended and Jackson grew extremely frustrated with how Mark refused to leave April's side. Even when she temporarily left to use the women's restroom he followed her and waited outside. The plastic surgeon had become overly protective of his fiancée ever since he realized the NFL star wanted what he had. He claimed her first and there was no way in hell he was going to let an old high school crush take her away from him. And he most definitely refused to be shown up by the younger and _richer_ man.

He used every opportunity possible to flaunt their relationship in front of Jackson. Kissing her constantly, sweet talking into her ear, grabbing her in places he knew were inappropriate but satisfying for him. And he made sure his new foe saw it all.

"If I were you, I'd punch that dude," Alex suggested to his best friend. They were standing by the bar, beers in their hands. He tried to be supportive of Jackson because he knew he had been lonely for some time. And April seemed to be perfect for him. "Seriously, Avery. I won't even arrest you for doing it."

Jackson softly smiled and shook his head. "As much as I'd love to, I just can't. That wouldn't make me the bigger person. April knows I want her. I think she feels the same way," he insisted, then he grinned at Alex. "She wouldn't have kissed me if she didn't."

"Hold up. She kissed you?" his wingman inquisitively asked. "When?"

"When we snuck out before dinner. We were just having a conversation in one of the classrooms and one thing led to another…" His voice trailed as he relived the touch of April's lips against his in his mind. "And on the teacher's desk too."

"Dude," Alex chuckled, slapping the back of his hand against Jackson's chest. "You made out on a teacher's desk? I used to have wet dreams about Ms. Robbins and I having sex on her desk. Damn, too bad she's not here. I've seen her out and about in the city and whew, she's still hot for her age."

"Well, she _is_ only ten years older than us," he mentioned. "I doubt she's aged that much."

"So, you two didn't seal the deal or anything?"

Jackson shook his head disappointedly. "We were interrupted by a text from her dumbass fiancé. I don't know if we would have, but…" He took a deep breath and sighed. "…I don't want to sound like a sick pervert, but if she had let me take her, I would have. That dress of hers isn't doing me any favors."

Alex firmly patted his friend's back and laughed. "It's a good thing you're wearing black pants, huh? At least people won't easily notice your excitement level whenever you're around Kepner," he quipped. "So uhh, when you two were making out how was she?"

He slowly glanced back at the police officer. "Since when did we share intimate details with each other? Look, I know we used to tell each other the most random shit back in high school, but I don't recall our sexual experiences being one of them."

"Freakin' A, we're grown men. It's not like we're acting like giddy girlfriends right now."

"Actually, _you_ kind of are," Jackson replied with a smirk. "Why do you want to know so badly? We just made out. Whatever. It was hot, but it was too short. She didn't mind my hand up her dress, though."

"Ah, so you made out with her _and_ you felt her up?"

"My hand didn't make it up that high," he muttered and sipped his beer.

"You need to just approach April and ask her to dance with you. Who gives a crap about what Mark says?" Alex advised. "He doesn't own her and if he starts getting physical with her, I'll handle it. I'm a freaking cop, remember?"

Jackson chuckled. "Okay, so you're willing to arrest Mark for potentially hurting April, but you won't arrest me if I knock him out?"

"You're my best friend. I gotta stick by your side. Plus, I hate that jerk. He deserves a nice kick in the balls."

A hint of guilt hovered over the pretty boy's head. Alex still considered him to be his best friend even though they hadn't been keeping in touch as much as they used to. And when they were eighteen he often resented him because of how immature and obnoxious he acted towards everyone. But Karev had always been loyal to him, so he felt even more guilty for not even bothering to reserve free tickets for him and Izzie whenever the Niners visited the Seahawks during the season. He owed his friend a lot for not thinking any differently of him.

"Karev, I'm sorry," Jackson blurted out.

"For what?" Alex questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"For not being a good friend in the past five years or so," he admitted, setting his beer bottle on the counter and slipping his hands inside of his pockets. "I haven't been a good friend whether you disagree with me or not. I really haven't. My busy schedule's not an excuse. You're standing here being a friend when I haven't been one to you."

The brunette man slightly shrugged. "No, it's cool. You're a busy dude. You can't control everything all at once." He nudged Jackson's side with his elbow. "Don't get all sappy with me, Avery. There are women in this room."

"I'm serious, man. Yeah, we've been friends, but anybody can call anybody a 'friend' without actually truly being their friend," Jackson persisted. "Trust me. I have a lot of so-called friends, but I don't consider them to be my _friends_. Does that make sense?"

"You miss me. I get it." Alex cracked a smile. "I miss you too, dude."

His best friend picked up his beer and finished the rest of it. "That last bit of the conversation didn't happen."

"No idea what you're talking about," he casually replied as they continued watching their classmates party on the dance floor.

Soon, their attention was drawn away from the dance floor and to the lobby where April and Mark were engaged in a heated argument. Neither of them could hear a word they were saying because of the music playing loudly in the gymnasium, but their body language screamed trouble. Mostly finger pointing and arms being thrown in the air. Whatever they were arguing about, it was enough for Jackson to want to intrude.

Regardless of Alex's protests, his best friend walked towards the quarreling couple. He didn't enter the lobby to stop the fight. Instead, he opted to stand against the wall and listen to what they were actually arguing about in the first place. His name was brought up, along with a woman's name he didn't recognize.

"I don't understand why you're so upset over a guy I haven't been cheating on you with!" April shouted, holding up her fiancé's cell phone. Earlier, she had gotten a hold of his coveted iPhone and discovered numerous suspicious text messages from a nurse who worked at their hospital. She had confronted him about it, which led to him accusing her of cheating on him with Jackson. "Who else have you been sleeping around with behind my back? And don't lie to me because I'll find out eventually!"

"There's nobody! You're being overly paranoid as usual," Mark countered, reaching for his cell phone, but she moved her arm away. "Give me back my damn phone! I need it for work."

"Oh, please! Your most recent text messages and e-mails have had _nothing_ to do with work," the redhead scoffed, wiping away the tears on her face. "You're an asshole, you know that? Y-you forget my birthday, you flirt with other women when I'm right there next to you. You don't appreciate me at all! I don't think you ever did!"

He shook his head as he placed his hands against his hips. "That's bull. If anything, you've been taking _me_ for granted. I helped your surgical career soar above everyone else's before you've even completed your residency. You wouldn't be where you are right now if it wasn't for me!"

April scowled at her fiancé. "No. _Torres_ is the reason why my career is where it is today. It was all her. Not you, Mark." She threw his cell phone at him, hitting his chest before it landed in front of him on the floor. "You just took my virginity."

The last comment struck a nerve. Mark raised his hand as if he was about to strike at her, but he changed his mind. That wasn't going to make him feel any better nor could he get away with hitting a woman. "I loved you once. I did love you, but you want to know the truth now? You're nothing to me, April. Nothing! So go after your old high school crush. Just remember, the only reason why he noticed you in the first place is because you're attractive now. Had you stayed that sad, nerdy girl from ten years ago, he wouldn't have given you a second look."

"I want you to get out of my face," she sternly replied, removing her engagement ring. "And take this stupid piece of shit with you!"

The surgical resident threw the diamond ring at Mark's face, nailing him in the eye. He screamed in pain as he grabbed his face. "Bitch! You could've blinded me!" he yelled. Clumsily picking up his cell phone, he didn't bother to search for the ring as he headed towards the exit. "I'm booking the earliest flight back to Miami when I get to the hotel."

"Good! I don't want to see you anymore, Mark!" she bawled, her voice cracking as she sobbed uncontrollably. "And your crap better be out of my apartment by the time I return home!"

Jackson raised both of his eyebrows, trying to take in everything he had overheard. April's heels clattered against the floor as she ran towards an unknown destination. Now, he wished he had interrupted their argument because listening to Mark demoralize her infuriated him. At the same time, he was relieved the plastic surgeon left. Otherwise, the douche would have been sporting a couple of raccoon eyes after breaking his nose with a single punch.

It was the perfect opportunity to search for April and talk to her. Walking into the lobby, there were three places she may have been hiding since she never returned to the gymnasium – the boys' locker room, a janitor closet and outside. He assumed she hadn't gone outside where her former douche bag fiancé fled and the closet was likely locked. That left the locker room.

Pushing open the swinging door, the locker room was eerily quiet with the exception of her sobs echoing inside. The area was dark and if it weren't for the lights outside illuminating it through the small windows close to the ceiling, it would have been pitch black. He wandered through a set of aisles until he found her sitting on a bench in between the lockers. Her face was buried in her hands as she continued to cry.

"April?" He stopped a few feet away when her head shot up to face him. She appeared surprised and distraught to see him find her in a bawling mess. "I… I saw you and Mark arguing from the bar. I just wanted to check and see if you were alright."

April angrily pointed at herself as more tears trickled out from her puffy eyes. "Do I look alright to you, Jackson? Do I look okay?" she snapped. "He told me I was nothing. I used to be nothing for the longest time and now I'm back to being that."

"You're not nothing," he assured her as he slowly approached her. "Don't believe what that jerk said because it's not true. You're definitely more than nothing."

"Easy for you to say," she scoffed, turning her head away from him. "Mark's right. You wouldn't have noticed me if I still looked the way I did in high school. If you didn't see me as anything before, then why would you now? Guys whistling at me or yelling sexist things doesn't make me feel better about myself. They don't care about me. They just care about how I look on the outside. None of them probably remember who I am."

Jackson sat down beside April, slightly frowning at her. Of course, he couldn't say she was wrong. It took her hot transformation for him to notice her, but he wanted her for more than her body, especially after they were able to have a meaningful conversation before dinner.

"Okay, so I did notice you because I found you attractive, but I'm not like those other guys. You said so yourself in your speech that this weekend was for people who wanted a second chance to fix their past mistakes. Well, I'm one of those people," he confidently stated. Jackson removed a handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to her. "If Mark can't see how special you are, then he doesn't deserve to be in your life."

"You think I'm special after knowing me for about two hours?" she skeptically asked, drying her eyes with the handkerchief. "Would it bother you if I sing in the shower or watch a cheesy chick flick on my nights off? There are a lot of things about me that you might not be interested in."

"And there may be things about me that don't interest you, but somewhere in between we might have more things in common than not," he suggested, then he smiled. "I sing in the shower too sometimes. I normally don't admit that either."

April managed to laugh as she dabbed her eyes again. She finally gazed back at him and sighed. "Why do you want me, Jackson?"

He brushed aside strands of her auburn hair to get a better look at her face. "Because you're beautiful and smart. You're kind, understanding, compassionate. Basically, everything I've been searching for in a woman. You're not nothing at all." Resting his palm against her cheek, he stared into her eyes. "And if I hadn't been so blind and ignorant ten years ago… I know I can't change what happened in the past, but if you give me a chance, I promise I will treat you with the utmost respect you deserve."

She licked her lips before leaning forward and kissing Jackson's. He clutched her waist, pulling him onto his lap so she was straddling him. The redhead grasped the back of his head, her fingers digging into his scalp as she kissed him hard. Maybe a little too hard, but he found himself aroused by her sudden forcefulness. His hands roamed all over her back and he slid one of them underneath her dress.

April let out a mixture of a moan and a giggle when she felt the pretty boy's hand squeeze her ass. He moved away from her lips, peppering kisses from her chin and along her jaw line until he reached her neck. She tilted her head back as Jackson hungrily devoured her neck. The touch of his tongue sent shivers down her spine with every kiss he placed on her skin.

He tangled his fingers into her hair as his lips moved farther down to her chest, gently gnawing at the top of her left breast and a moan escaped from her mouth. She pulled his head upward and passionately kissed him again. Her hands worked on unbuttoning his shirt, while he reached for the zipper of her dress.

"You're okay about doing this?" he asked in between kisses. Obviously, he preferred they keep going, but he also didn't want to force her to have sex with him either. "We can stop if you're uncomfortable."

April bit down on her bottom lip as she finished unbuttoning his shirt. "I don't want to stop," she breathed and peeled away his white dress shirt from his body.

Her eyes scanned his chiseled pecs and abdomen. Since their high school years, the football player had maintained a gorgeous physique and he only looked even better now. Even her nerdy self had been guilty of peeking inside of basketball practice when the team engaged in a shirts versus skins scrimmage. And Mark had quite an attractive body as well, but staring at her classmate made her blush.

Jackson decided to change positions, especially since April brushing up against him made for a very uncomfortable tightness in his pants. He lifted her up in his arms as he stood up and pressed her back against a locker. Her lips crashed against his and she threw her arms over his shoulders. One of his hands was working on her zipper, the other hand sneaking underneath her dress again. If he wasn't so patient with her, he thought he may very well rip that emerald green dress away from her body.

He slightly pulled away from her when he finished unzipping her dress. She slid the piece of garment down her body and let it drop onto the floor. For a brief moment, he stared at the matching black strapless bra and panties she wore. She sheepishly smiled, appearing slightly embarrassed by his intense staring.

"Are you just gonna stare all night?" the surgeon teased.

Jackson playfully growled under his breath before he knelt down in front of her and placed a kiss just above navel. April inhaled sharply as he left a trail of kisses on her body as he moved upwards back to her chest. His hand grasped her breast, while he used the other to unclasp her bra.

"Damn," he mumbled through gritted teeth as he stared at her breasts. Well-rounded and perfect in his mind. "Where were you ten years ago?"

"Non-existent," she chuckled. "I was a late bloomer."

He smirked at her before kissing her lips. "I don't believe you. I think you've had them hidden all along."

April clutched the front of his belt. "Jackson, enough with the stalling. Take off your pants," she demanded with a mischievous grin on her face. She had never felt so impatient with the opposite sex before, but all of the teasing and foreplay from him finally pushed her to her limits.

Jackson didn't need her to ask him twice. He quickly unfastened his belt and she sped up the process by unzipping his pants for him. Pushing down his pants and boxers at the same time, he watched her eyes glance down at the one body part she had been eager to see. "Are you happy now?" he jokingly asked.

She slowly nodded her head. He was an impressive size, but she realized perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised either. Big hands was a myth she had heard countless times. He definitely proved that myth right. "O-oh, yes. I'm happy," she squeaked.

His fingers pinched the waistband of her panties. "Let's get rid of these, okay?" he humorously said.

April stepped out of her last piece of clothing after he removed them for her, then she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. Picking her up from the floor, Jackson firmly held her against the locker as he slowly pushed himself into her. She softly moaned into his mouth, gently biting on his lower lip. He felt incredible inside of her and she tightly wrapped her legs around his waist as he started to find a smooth rhythm with hips.

His teeth grazed her neck as he groaned huskily. He could feel her nails scratching his upper back and neck while she loudly moaned his name. "You feel so good," he whispered into her ear.

She hungrily kissed him, nearly gasping for air when he increased the pace of his thrusts. He blindly took a step back, sitting down on the bench, so she was straddling him again.

Staring up at the redhead, Jackson breathed heavily as he watched her mouth slightly drop open after she took in all of him for the first time. How was this the same girl he teased ten years ago? There was currently nothing about her that screamed nerd or awkward science geek. It almost felt wrong and dirty, like he was corrupting her even though she wasn't a virgin. The locker room was filled with many memories of him making out with Lexie, but never any sex. So, in a way, they were both locker room virgins. At least it made sense to him in his head.

Now he understood what Mark meant during their brief conversation at Joe's. April _was_ pretty amazing. She knew exactly what she was doing to him. And he truthfully didn't want it to end soon.

He ran his hands all over her back and nipped at the bottom of her breast with his teeth causing her to squirm. She was nearing her climax, but he wasn't quite ready to meet her halfway. Their moans filled the once silent and empty locker room as she screamed out his name one last time. Her reaction unleashed his own response and he finished inside of her.

Heavily panting against her shoulder, Jackson softly kissed her collar bone and traveled up to her neck. "You were great," he breathlessly admitted. "I mean, really, _really_ great. Like… wow. Holy shit."

April laughed at his choice of words and rested her hands against his cheeks. "So were you," she complimented, pecking his lips once and placing her forehead against his. "Thank you."

She climbed off of his lap, picking up her underwear and bra from the floor and slipping them back on. Instead of putting on her dress, she took Jackson's dress shirt and wore that.

"I hope you know I'm not going back out there wearing your dress," he quipped, pulling up his pants and buckling his belt.

"I know, but that dress is so tight that I could barely breathe in it. I'm just going to borrow it for a few minutes." Sitting down on the floor and leaning back against a locker, April patted the space next to her. She crossed her ankles as Jackson took a seat beside her. Sex in the locker room with a man she hadn't originally arrived with felt exhilarating. Running her fingers through her hair, she laughed to herself as she continued to process what had just happened. "Did we really just do that?"

He charmingly grinned at her. "Yeah. Are you glad we did that?"

"We had sex in the boys' locker room," the redhead stated, then she burst into laughter. "This is the first time I've ever seen the inside of this place! I couldn't even bear walking into the _girls'_ locker room. Those first two years of high school were the worst when we had P.E. I mean, this is the one area where my insecurities surfaced the most."

"So… you're glad we did that. Right?" Jackson anxiously questioned.

She looked back at him and smiled. "Yes. Of course. I'm just… I feel lucky to have met you again."

"I should be saying that." He tilted her chin with his finger and kissed her lips. A frown formed on her face soon after and he grew concerned. "What's the matter?"

"What's going to happen after tonight?" she worriedly asked, biting down on her swollen bottom lip. April realized that their night together was a brief vacation away from the real world, in which he lived in California and she resided in Miami. They would be 3,000 miles apart when reunion weekend was over. "Do we just pretend this never happened?"

Jackson shook his head. "No way. I want to see you again. Every day, whenever. I have to see you again when this weekend ends," he determinedly answered. "This wasn't some quick hook up we have to try to forget. I want this – _us_. I've told you this before and I'll say it again. I want you, April. I'm not exactly sure how we'll make it work, but we'll figure it out together."

He refused to let her go easily. She wasn't a one night stand to him. Reunion weekend served its purpose for him by connecting him to the one person he could picture himself being with in the long run. They were far from finished in his mind.

April snuggled against his side, running her fingertips along his six-pack. She tickled his neck with the tip of her nose as they quietly cuddled in the locker room. "Be honest with me. Do you think we could work? We're in very different places in our lives and I hope if we try a relationship, we won't turn into people who fight more than anything else. I can't handle another fallout like what happened with Mark."

"Listen, neither of us can predict what will happen, but we won't know at all if we don't try," the pretty boy answered truthfully. He draped his arm around her waist and soothingly rubbed her side. "Don't be scared, okay? I would never treat you the way Mark did."

She kissed his cheek graciously before she stood up. "You still owe me a dance."

Jackson pushed himself up from the floor, while April removed his shirt and returned it to him. "Definitely more than one dance. I think there's still enough time for at least five dances," he optimistically replied. He helped her with the zipper of her dress after she wore it again. "You look so gorgeous in this dress, by the way."

Turning around to face him, she adjusted his collar and stepped into her dreaded heels. "It's my personal favorite, despite how suffocating it is," she confessed, scrunching her nose. "Maybe I gained weight and that's why it feels tighter on me."

"Don't even start with the weight woes," he scolded her. "You look perfectly fine… and sexy."

Her hands slithered over his shoulders as she leaned in for another kiss. "You're quite the smooth talker, Jackson Avery," she happily mumbled against his lips.

He took her hand, interlocking their fingers together and led her towards the entrance of the locker room. Pushing the door open, the smile on his face faded when he was confronted by Mark, who had returned from the parking lot after he changed his mind about going to the hotel. A small part of him hoped to make amends and fix his current problems with April. However, the sight of her with Jackson shifted his priorities.

Before the football player could react, his face met Mark's two million dollar fist.

* * *

**As always, send me your thoughts! Next chapter will be posted next Tuesday :)**


	5. Tying Loose Ends

**Thank you for the reviews! :) The reception for this story has been awesome!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Mark, stop!" April shouted as her ex-fiancé pounced on top of Jackson and threw punch after punch at his pretty face. She grabbed his shoulders trying to pry him off of the football player, but he was stronger than she was. "Get off of him!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing with my fiancée, you bastard?" the plastic surgeon snarled, holding up Jackson by the front of his shirt. The younger man responded with his own punch, knocking him onto his back.

Wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, Jackson grimaced as he stood up. "She's not your fiancée anymore," he sternly replied. "April doesn't deserve the crappy treatment you've been giving her. Nobody who claims to love their significant other would ever show so much disrespect like you have."

"You only went after her because she was vulnerable," Mark accusingly said, adjusting his jacket after standing up. "Trying to be a hero now? Just 'cause you're an NFL big shot it doesn't mean you're better than me. I fix people for a living. You? You'll be a washed up pro eventually. All it takes is one bad knee injury and you're finished."

"You fix people for a living, good for you. But that doesn't take away the fact that you're an egotistical loser who treats women like material possessions rather than human beings," he countered.

Before Mark could retaliate, a set of hands grabbed him from behind and slammed him against the wall. Alex smugly grinned as he successfully restrained the plastic surgeon. "Dude, I wouldn't mess with my buddy if I were you. And for the record, I never play good cop with anybody," he warned him.

April had found her classmate in time before the fight could escalate. She handed Jackson a napkin for his nosebleed and placed her hands against his chest. "Are you okay? Does your nose feel broken?"

"I don't think so," he coolly answered.

"Well, I'll check to make sure it isn't anyway. I'm a doctor for crying out loud, so it's automatic for me," she insisted, smiling back at him. The redhead turned around, slightly amused by the sight of Alex giving Mark a hard time. "Umm… Alex? You can let him go. I mean, if Jackson doesn't want to press charges."

Jackson waved his hand at his best friend. "It's okay, Karev. As long as he doesn't try to beat my ass again, I'll let this one slide." A few more punches to Mark's perfect teeth would have been enjoyable, though. "If you come back, he'll make sure you leave in handcuffs next time."

Alex released the older man and gently shoved him towards the exit. "Yeah, and I'll throw you into a cell with all of the perverts too," he quipped. He pushed him one last time out the door, chuckling to himself as he approached the twosome. "What a freaking douche. I can't believe you were with that guy, Kepner."

"He wasn't always like that," the surgical resident said disappointedly. "Anyway, thank you. Hopefully, he doesn't pull another surprise appearance like he did just now. I told him to leave, so he should know better this time."

"Avery, you should get yourself cleaned up. Principal Bailey's about to announce a bunch of cheesy awards and you'll most likely win something," he advised with a smirk. His eyes noticed April's hand clinging onto Jackson's and he laughed. "So you two are together now? That was fast. You guys already set a wedding date?"

"Get outta here, man," the pretty boy ordered, playfully punching his friend's shoulder. "We'll meet you in a few minutes."

After Alex left them alone, April moved the napkin from Jackson's nose. The bleeding had stopped, so she performed a quick examination to check for a broken nose. "Any pain?" she questioned. He shook his head in response. "You're not sporting any black eyes, so that's a plus. But I hope you're not lying to me about not experiencing any pain. It's okay to let your macho man guard down for a minute."

"I'm telling the truth. No pain." He pressed his hand against her cheek and kissed her lips. "I'm just going to wash up in the restroom. I'll meet you in the gym, okay?"

April quietly nodded, temporarily separating herself from Jackson as he left for the men's restroom. She entered the gym where the majority of her class were standing close to the stage where Principal Bailey prepared to make another speech at the podium. Slowly walking towards the group, she was reluctant to join her classmates because she hadn't mingled with most of them since she arrived. With the exception of her table, she continued to feel like a huge loner at the reunion.

Instead, she opted to sit at her table and check her cell phone for any messages from work. So far, the only real good thing to happen to her that weekend was Jackson. In the short hours she had spent time with him, he already treated her better than Mark did in the two and a half years they were together. How could a man who thought she was pathetic in high school have a sudden change of heart about her so quickly?

She stopped trying to figure it out after she realized he was sincerely interested in her. And their locker room romp would surely be remembered for a long time, maybe until the day she died. Recalling their intimate moment in her head made her blush. Aside from the hospital, she had never engaged in sex in such a public area. Mark once wanted a quickie in the backseat of his car, but she felt they would be too exposed for that.

High school locker room? Yeah, that was different, but exhilarating at the same time.

And she certainly never considered herself to be _that_ type of woman. The type who jumped on a guy without having known him for a while. She thought she would feel guilty and regret it afterwards, but being with Jackson felt too good to feel bad about it.

"Hey, trying to hide?" Izzie jokingly asked after she approached the redhead. She sat down beside April and smiled. "This reunion's been pretty eventful, don't you think?"

"I suppose you could put it that way," the surgeon replied with a giggle. "Never really expected this weekend to be… full of surprises. I hadn't given it a single thought that I could have some fun being back home. It's still a little awkward for me, though."

The blonde woman playfully nudged her with her elbow. "Jackson really likes you."

April softly laughed as she fidgeted with her cell phone. "I'm fully aware of that now." She bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from blurting out what she had just done with Jackson in the boys' locker room. Sharing her sexual experiences with other people wasn't something she typically did. Her mother believed she was still a virgin. "He's a sweet person, something I didn't think was possible."

"People do change."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of that too," she concurred, eying Izzie disappointedly. "You can include yourself in that list."

The veterinarian sighed, slightly furrowing her brow at April. "After what? About fourteen years, you're still holding a grudge against me?"

"Well, ten years of friendship isn't something that doesn't escape my memory," she murmured. "We were cubby buddies in preschool, we played hopscotch every recess in Kindergarten, partners for every science project in middle school. And when we reached high school, you pretended not to know me because I didn't fit in with the popular kids. We were Girl Scouts together and… best friends."

Izzie frowned. None of her close friends knew she and April grew up together. She was deemed the pretty one, while the redhead was the smart one. But somehow, they were each other's support system. They complemented each other well like peanut butter and jelly. And their friendship went down the drain instantly because of her eagerness to be popular. She couldn't deny the fact that she had been embarrassed to be seen with the geeky loner.

"I'm sorry, April. It… it wasn't personal-"

"It was personal, Iz. C'mon, I'm not stupid," she retorted. "I wasn't drop dead gorgeous or had the best wardrobe even for a school that enforced uniforms. I probably wore the longest skirt in our entire school. Who would hang out with someone like _her_?"

"But I never treated you the way Jackson and Alex did. I defended you every chance I could," Izzie insisted, shaking her head. "I know that doesn't make up for ignoring you all through high school. I was a bad friend."

"Just a bad friend?"

She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Fine, I was a shitty, shitty friend."

"I think the last time we had a meaningful conversation was at my father's funeral in eighth grade," April sadly recalled, her eyes tearing up as she briefly thought about her father's death. Her former best friend comforted her for a whole week by sleeping over at her house and pigging out on ice cream together.

Izzie shook her head in disagreement. "That's not true. Senior year, I stayed behind after school because I needed to paint a bunch of banners that I needed to hang for prom. Lexie forgot she was supposed to help as freaking Student Council President and left me alone to do all of it," she explained. "I was in the gym and you just happened to pass by for whatever reason and I asked you for help. You don't remember?"

April remembered it, but for not so fond reasons.

* * *

_School had been dismissed for about an hour, but April opted to stay behind and help Ms. Robbins clean all of the instruments used that day in the chemistry lab. It didn't matter to her that her younger sister Kimmie was impatiently waiting for her in the parking lot. She had become almost depressed that day after her precious beret was torched by Jackson and his stupidity. All she wanted to do now was go home and cry in her bedroom for hours._

_She typically cut through the gym to get to the parking lot. It also gave her an excuse to take a quick glimpse of her crush when it was basketball season. However, the only person inside was Izzie. The head cheerleader was surrounded by large banners and buckets of paint. Seeing her always made April resent her. The one true friend she had outside of her cousin George abandoned her on the first day of freshman year. Every time her mother asked her why the blonde never came over to their house anymore, she would simply lie and say she was extremely busy with extracurricular activities._

_A part of her wanted to blame herself for being so plain and boring, but at the same time, she didn't consider herself to be a poser. She never strived to be somebody she wasn't._

_Izzie had everything. Steady boyfriend, albeit a total jerk to people outside of their group, popularity through cheerleading and student council. She had the looks of a model. Everyone constantly told her she should become one. And her kindness made their fellow classmates adore her even more._

_Her only flaw was the fact that she never acknowledged April as somebody she spent the majority of her childhood with. They currently lived in separate worlds._

_Looking up from her banner, Izzie waved her arm at the brunette. "April, could you help me for a second?" she politely asked. "It'll only take a minute, I promise."_

_The nerd timidly approached her clutching a binder against her chest. "Umm… I'd help you, but Kimmie is waiting for me. She gets really crabby if she has to wait too long."_

_"She can wait a little longer. She's a brat anyway," Izzie scoffed, a muffled laugh escaping her mouth. April slightly smiled in response. "Please? Some of these banners are dry and I need to hang them. Lexie ditched me. She was supposed to help me, but she left with some softball teammates."_

_"I guess I can help. What are the banners for?"_

_"Promoting prom tickets," the blonde answered, picking up a dry banner and standing up. "Are you going? It's gonna be in the Space Needle. How awesome is that? The Grey's are funding it."_

_April slowly shrugged her shoulders. Attending her senior prom was definitely an event her mother would force her to go to. Unfortunately, she was certain she would end up going alone. "I'm not sure. Dances aren't really for me. You should know that."_

_"But it's the last dance of our high school lives. You have to go," Izzie insisted. "C'mon, there has to be somebody you want to go with. Even someone like you probably has the hots for somebody in our class."_

_"No… I don't," she lied. As if she was going to tell her she had her eyes set on Jackson. He was dating the most popular girl in school. Plus, the pretty boy was currently the world's biggest douche in her mind. "I think I'm going to skip out on prom."_

_Izzie sighed as she led April out of the gym. "You know, if you got some contact lenses and did something with your hair, guys would for sure notice you more often. It's like you're hiding behind a mask you refuse to take off," she bluntly said. "You've always had the potential to be prettier than you appear to be."_

_She furrowed her eyebrows at the cheerleader. "I'm fine the way I am."_

_"I'm just offering some advice. Libby never gave you any tips before she left home for Gonzaga?"_

_"No, because she always pretended we weren't related," April bitterly replied. There was a moment of silence before she decided to ask, "Why do you act like we don't know each other well?"_

_Izzie ignored the question and stopped in front of the entrance of the cafeteria. "This is a good place to put this up." She dragged a couple of chairs from the cafeteria and set them against the walls. "You take one end and I'll take the other."_

_April set her binder on the ground and removed her backpack. Stepping onto one of the chairs, she raised her side of the banner and held it in place, while Izzie taped the corners of her side. "So umm… have you decided what college you're going to yet?"_

_"I did. I'm attending Oregon State with Alex," she gleefully replied. "He got a wrestling scholarship there, so we'll move down to Corvallis after we graduate. What about you? Are you going to Harvard like you've always wanted?"_

_"No. I decided to attend Stanford."_

_"Stanford? Wow, I'd do anything to get into that. But I'm not nearly as smart as you are. I mean, I barely get by in my AP and Honors classes," Izzie confessed, handing April strips of tape. "Do you think I have the brains to become a vet?"_

_"You can be anything you want to be if you work hard enough for it," the brunette nonchalantly answered. "So you still want to become a veterinarian after all this time? I thought you would've changed your mind by then. We were ten when you said that."_

_"I do. I think it's my calling," she determinedly responded. "Oh, isn't your birthday in a couple of weeks? Are you doing anything special with your family?"_

_April slowly shook her head. "Not that I know of. Why do you even care? It's not like you'll even acknowledge me when it's my birthday. For all I know, you'll probably ask Alex and Jackson to burn something else of mine."_

_"What happened in Chem today wasn't my fault. I didn't even know that would happen. Besides, it was an accident. Jackson didn't burn your beret on purpose."_

_"So you're saying it was okay because he didn't mean to burn it?" she retorted. "You know how important that beret was to me. You were there when my dad gave it to me on my birthday."_

_"Well, it was an ugly beret," Izzie harshly said. "I'm sorry, but I never liked it and it looked ridiculous on you."_

_Hopping off of the chair, April gathered her belongings quickly. "You really have turned into a snob. And for the record, those are Kimmie's words. She may be a brat, but she's still a better person than you," she sternly replied and walked away in a hurry._

_Her eyes swelled with tears on her way to the parking lot. The one person who used to be her best friend in the entire world thought she was a loser. Maybe she always thought so, but it hurt to finally realize that._

* * *

Izzie felt like the worst person in the world after she recalled their conversation. That purple beret was an everlasting memory of Joe Kepner and she had completely ripped April's heart into shreds by rudely criticizing it. Did she actually hate it? Yes, but there were some things that people should never admit, especially when it was connected to deceased loved ones.

"April, I should have never said that to you. I'm really sorry."

"It doesn't matter anymore, okay? We haven't been friends in so long that it just doesn't matter. After this weekend, we'll all go back to our normal lives like this reunion never happened," the redhead replied in frustration. "Well, except I no longer have a fiancé and even though I had dirty sex with Jackson in the locker room, I will probably end up alone."

The veterinarian raised her hand. "Hold up. You and Jackson hooked up?" she excitedly asked. "Wow, I didn't know you had it in you. I'm impressed, especially because your hair still looks flawless. Not a hint of sex hair."

April stared at Izzie unamused. "I'm growing attached to a guy who really should be unavailable. In fact, he sort of is."

"What are you talking about?"

"We are so different. He says he wants to try to make it work, but what if the distance gets in the way? That's how he and Lexie broke up in the first place, right?" she pessimistically stated. "And I'm no Lexie Grey… or _you_. I don't look this glamorous every day. In fact, I almost never wear any makeup to work!"

"April, calm down," she advised with a chuckle. "You're not ugly on the outside or the inside. Besides, Jackson's been gaga over you since last night. He could probably have any woman in the world, but he wants _you_."

Placing her elbows on the table, she pressed her palms against her cheeks and sighed. "Yet I'm still trying to understand why. I'm a nice person, I'm a surgeon and I color code my closet. I shed my nerdy appearance, but I don't believe I'm insanely attractive. He told me why he wants me, though I already expect him to eventually become bored with me. Mark did. So did you."

"Looking back, you were the best friend I ever had. When my dad moved out in seventh grade you stayed on the phone with me until I fell asleep for a whole month," Izzie remembered. "And I remember we both got the chicken pox at the same time in Kindergarten. One day, your mom dropped you off at my house because she had to work and I'm an only child, so she didn't have to worry about you giving the pox to someone else. We spent that whole day scratching each other's backs when my mom wasn't watching."

"Then we ended up with some really bad scars from scratching so much," April added, sharing a laugh with the blonde woman. "I think I still have some of those scars."

"Me too." She tapped her fingers against the table. "Do you think we could be friends again? I know us drifting apart was my fault and I want to make up for it somehow. That and I do miss you. It probably doesn't sound like l do, but talking again like this helped me realize how stupid I acted when we were teenagers."

"Friends as in we talk every week friends?"

Izzie smiled and nodded. "Yes. That type of friends."

"Sure. I appreciate that," April accepted, giving her a hug. She smiled as she pulled away from her classmate. "So, you and Alex have kids?"

"Oh! Yes, we do," she chirped, opening her purse and pulling out her cell phone. Izzie opened a photo album to show the surgeon her two children. "These are my twins, Michael and Elizabeth. They're two years old. Mikey is exactly like Alex. He never wants to smile for the camera and is stubborn all the time. Lizzie, on the other hand, is an angel. She's a little lady."

"They're precious," the redhead complimented as she stared at the photo of the little Karevs. "I'm sure you're a good mom. You always wanted to be one when we were kids."

"You know who you'd make adorable children with? Jackson Avery," Izzie implied. She laughed when April rolled her eyes and gently slapped her arm. "What? It's true. Your kids would have the most gorgeous eyes ever."

"How about we hold off on the baby talk until we get married next week, okay?" April sarcastically said. She turned her attention to the stage as one of their classmates joined Principal Bailey to accept one of the night's awards.

Jackson stepped out of the men's restroom after washing the blood from his hands and face. He spotted April having a conversation with Izzie at their table and started to approach them, but the next award presented had his name attached to it.

"And your Reunion King and Queen are Jackson Avery and Lexie Grey!" Principal Bailey announced, followed by applause from the class.

_When the hell was there time to vote for this crap?_ the pretty boy wondered as he walked towards the stage. It had to be rigged, he thought. He briefly glimpsed back at April, who simply smiled at him. This wasn't what he wanted, freaking attention from everyone. The moment felt worse when they were given cheap crowns for the award. It became even more unbearable when they were told to share a dance together like it was prom night all over again.

He wanted his first dance of the night to be with April not his ex-girlfriend, but he forced himself to suck it up as their classmates surrounded them in a circle. Jackson forced himself to smile at Lexie as they slow danced to Justin Timberlake. Whenever he had the chance, he glanced over her head to look at the real object of his affection. She appeared a little glum, possibly bummed that their first dance didn't happen together like he had promised.

April internally wanted to stab herself in the eyes with a fork. Watching the former power couple dance brought back painful memories of prom – painful because she never went. Despite being pressured to attend every other dance throughout high school, she skipped the most significant one. She had lied to her mother about buying tickets and on prom night, she had created her own vomit to fake illness. It took a lot of hard work to avoid her senior prom.

"This is kind of fun, huh?" Lexie questioned, trying to catch Jackson's attention. "Remember our junior prom?"

"Of course I do," he murmured. It was difficult to forget the night one lost their virginity. "What about it?"

"Nothing. It was a fun night, that's all." She leaned close to his ear and whispered. "If you're not doing anything afterwards, my hotel is only a few miles away from the school. It could be a one-time thing. No strings attached."

Jackson pursed his lips as he rolled his eyes. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have plans." His gaze returned to April, who was heading towards the exit. He grew instantly confused wondering where she was going. If she was leaving, he had no way of contacting her, so he needed to stop her.

The song ended half a minute later and he rushed away from the crowd, drawing curious stares from his peers. He almost ran out of the gym to search for April, but he found her sitting on a bench outside.

"I thought you were leaving," he said worriedly.

"Oh, no. I just needed some fresh air," she insisted, looking up at him. "I'm not leaving yet. I don't have a ride to begin with."

He removed the tacky crown from his head and sat down beside her. "Did you know we were supposed to vote for these things? I swear, I had no idea there would be such thing as Reunion King and Queen. You should've been my queen."

"Yeah, right," she guffawed, folding her arms. "And there were ballots on the tables. I never bothered to fill mine out, though. It's all a popularity contest anyway. Nobody can actually determine who's the most successful or most changed in such short time unless people have been reading the class newsletters sent out every month."

"Are you okay? You sound like you don't want to be here anymore."

April sighed and pointed at herself. "I don't look like this all the time. You think I look beautiful now, but maybe you won't when you see my normal appearance," she explained and waved her arms when Jackson tried to respond. "Just hear me out first, okay? I need to say this because I've been let down too many times before. I don't want you to have high expectations about me. I'm average at best, so if you realize I'm not who you want, then be honest with me. I'll understand. I'm just tired of caring about people who don't care as much about me and finding out the hard way."

He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers and smiled. "Okay, I'll be honest with you. But right now, you're all I can think about even when we're in the same room. You think you're average, but you're the most intriguing woman I've run into in a long time. I mean that."

She shyly returned the smile before he gently kissed her lips. "Umm… I know you should be asking me this, but… will you dance with me?"

Jackson happily took her hands and pulled her up from the bench. Rather than go inside and join their classmates, he decided they should be alone again. Music could be heard from inside of the gym, so they stayed outside by the entrance. He comfortably wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his forehead against hers as they slow danced to John Mayer's "Your Body Is A Wonderland".

April giggled loudly when the pretty boy started singing along. "Are you trying to serenade me? Because you have the lyrics all wrong," she teasingly noted. "Maybe this is better off as a quiet dance."

"Ouch. I don't sing for just anybody," he stated, pretending to be hurt.

"Just kiss me, Jackson," she playfully demanded.

He pressed his lips against hers, slowly sliding his tongue inside of her mouth to deepen the kiss. And she thought she was the only person scared to love somebody again. He was just as terrified, especially since he found himself falling hard for someone he wasn't officially dating yet. No matter how many negative qualities she tried to point out to him, he refused to let her push him away.

Izzie suddenly appeared, interrupting their time alone together. "April! They need you inside!"

"Umm, what for?" the redhead asked curiously.

"It's Reed. She's in labor. We called an ambulance, but she claims the baby's already coming out, which I'm having a hard time believing because she's a compulsive liar. Although, maybe she's telling the truth this time," she amusingly responded. "But anyway, if she's telling the truth, the baby might be born before the ambulance gets here, so you have to deliver the baby."

"What? Me?" April stared at Izzie with wide eyes. "I-I I'm not an OB! I've never delivered a baby by myself before, let alone in a non-hospital setting. There's gotta be another doctor in the gym, right?"

"Nope. Apparently, you and I are the only doctors in the building, but I heal animals, so you're the only option," she insisted, grabbing the surgical resident's hand and leading her back into the gym. "Reed's in the women's restroom. We sort of set her up on the floor for you. There's a first aid kit ready for you to use, but I'm not sure if that's enough."

"It might have to be," she nervously replied. Her stomach churned as she entered the women's restroom. Reed sat up against Charles' body while she practiced her breathing. They used tablecloths to cover the floor and a small first aid kit was open and ready for use. "O-okay, uhh… Reed, how far apart are your contractions?"

The pregnant woman inhaled sharply as she experienced another contraction. "About two minutes apart," she groaned, tightly clutching her husband's hand. "Baby number three desperately wants to bust out of here. I can already feel its giant head trying to rip me in half."

April forced herself to laugh as she approached the sink. "Just give me a minute to wash my hands."

Charles glanced up at Jackson after he entered the restroom. "Hey, dude. If this baby flies out, be prepared to catch it for us, alright?" he quipped. "If you're gonna watch, make yourself useful. Just no peeking at my wife's goodies."

Jackson slightly grimaced as he stood by the wall. "As if I want to," he muttered.

While he quietly observed the scene, he watched April furiously wash her hands and forearms. The sight of her showing off her medical side made him quite excited mainly because he wanted to see her as a doctor. She wore rubber gloves afterwards and positioned herself in front of Reed. He immediately looked up at the ceiling when she lifted her dress to check her dilation.

"Holy crap, you're already fully dilated. You weren't kidding about this baby popping out soon," April pointed out. She took a deep breath and turned around to look at Jackson. "Could you find me some towels, please? And hurry."

After he left to get towels, Izzie took a seat on the floor and held Reed's other hand. "Don't worry. The ambulance is on their way." She bit the inside of her cheek as her friend squeezed her hand too tightly. "God, I hope they're here before you break my hand."

A moment later, Jackson returned with a set of towels he found from the bar. He handed them to April before standing by his protective wall again. Having never witnessed childbirth, a part of him wasn't ready to see the graphic parts of the miracle of life yet. He listened to her instruct Reed to push during her next contraction, followed by another and another one after that.

"Good. The head's almost completely out. You're doing great, Reed," she encouraged her classmate. "Push."

"Almost done?" he innocently questioned as he twiddled his thumbs. As much as he wanted to look, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The screams coming out of Reed _and_ Charles' mouths caused him to cringe.

It was a tense few minutes until the sound of a newborn baby's cries filled the restroom. April used one of the towels to clean the baby and another to wrap its body. "Congratulations, you two. You have a new baby boy," she cheerfully announced, carefully handing the baby to Reed.

"Finally, a penis," Charles stated, letting out a sigh of relief. He kissed the top of his wife's head, then he smiled at April. "Thank you for the help."

"Yes, thank you so much," Reed acknowledged.

April shyly smiled. "No problem." She was relieved when two paramedics walked inside. After providing them with all of the details, she removed the gloves and threw them away. She washed her hands at the sink again feeling proud of herself for not panicking. Delivering a baby at her high school reunion definitely topped off her crazy weekend.

Jackson grinned as he approached her. "That was badass," he complimented. "And kind of sexy. Can I call it sexy?"

"There's nothing sexy about childbirth," she replied with a smirk.

"Whatever. You were still one badass doctor." He placed his hand against her lower back as they walked out of the women's restroom together. They were greeted by a crowd, all of their classmates curious to find out if Reed gave birth. He gestured his arm towards April and smiled. "Dr. April Kepner here delivered a healthy baby boy just now."

She blushed when she received a round of applause from the people who barely remembered her. "It was nothing, really."

"Oh, don't be so modest!" Principal Bailey scoffed and shook April's hand. "You brought new life into the world. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am."

Jackson sensed the redhead was becoming uncomfortable from all of the sudden attention. "Well, the night isn't over yet. How about we give the Percys some room to breathe and let them come out without a huge crowd waiting for them?" he suggested. He guided April through the sea of former classmates and onto the dance floor. "Where were we again?"

She rested her head against his shoulder as they slow danced again. He grasped one of her hands and playfully spun her in a circle making her laugh. By then, others had joined them on the dance floor as things settled down at the reunion. Charles and Reed were escorted to the ambulance, so the latter and their baby could receive more care at the hospital.

Dirty locker room sex and delivering a baby in one night? April certainly had interesting stories to share with her friends when she returned to Miami.

* * *

At the conclusion of the reunion, Jackson offered to drive April to her hotel since Mark had left earlier with their rental car. She exchanged phone numbers with the Karevs and some other new friends who now respected her before they parted ways. Reunion weekend hadn't been so bad for her after all, despite a few downer moments here and there. At least she knew she was leaving with more moral support than when she first arrived.

While she waited for Jackson to get his car, Lexie approached her. They hadn't spoken much since dinner. April suspected it was due to the fact that the pretty boy showed zero interest in her romantically and all of his affection had been towards her instead.

"So, umm… you and Jackson are together?" the Broadway star inquired. "What happened to your fiancé?"

"We… I dumped him," April truthfully answered. "And this thing with Jackson, I'm not entirely sure what it is yet. I suppose it's a little complicated at the moment, but in a good way."

Lexie slowly nodded. "I see." She folded her arms. "Jackson is a great guy. He's always been great, but I took him for granted and now, he can barely look at me sometimes. So be good to him. Don't hurt him like I did, okay?"

"I-I I won't," she promised.

"And one more thing, can I have Mark's number?" She laughed and rolled her eyes when April raised an eyebrow at her. "Please don't ask questions. I'm sure you're not too fond of the man right now, but since you probably won't want to have anything to do with him…"

"Yeah, I guess," the surgeon awkwardly replied, taking her cell phone out of her purse. "He's no Prince Charming, though. I'll just warn you now."

"That's fine. Thank you." After putting Mark's number into her contacts list, Lexie half-smiled at April. "Okay, well… it was nice seeing you again even though we weren't friends. You turned out alright in my book. And if I ever did or said anything to you in the past, then I'm sorry. However, if I hear you hurt Jackson, I will track you down in Miami and kick your ass."

April swallowed hard and slightly smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." She watched Lexie walk away, then she placed her hand against her chest and let out a sigh of relief. Never cross paths with an ex-girlfriend ever again, she thought.

A minute later, Jackson's car pulled up nearby and he got out to open the passenger door for her. She climbed inside and waited for him to join her. He started driving to her hotel, though it was almost dead silent in the car. All of the dancing had sucked the energy out of them, but he didn't want this to be the last time he saw her before she returned to Miami.

She had fallen asleep in the car by the time he arrived at her hotel. He nudged her shoulder to wake her up. "We're here." The redhead rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms as she yawned. "So, do you have any plans for tomorrow? I'd like to see you before you leave."

"I kind of have a tight schedule," she regretfully answered. "I'm meeting with my family for lunch and my flight is scheduled in the late afternoon. Maybe breakfast?"

"Breakfast is good." He leaned in to kiss her goodnight. "I'm glad I came home for this."

April bit her bottom lip and smiled. "Me too." She opened the door and got out of the car. Peeking her head inside, she blew a kiss to the football player. "Goodnight, Jackson."

"G'night."

He smiled back at her as she closed the car door. His eyes remained focused on her until she disappeared inside of the hotel. Tightly gripping the steering wheel, Jackson suddenly frowned. He personally didn't want this specific day to end. It wasn't perfect, yet for him, it felt that way.

In the hotel, April removed her heels after she entered the elevator. Her feet were on fire and all she wanted to do was lie down and pass out. She still managed to smile as she thought about the time she spent with Jackson, mostly the part when they had sex. Even alone in the elevator, she quickly felt embarrassed about it.

When she arrived at her floor she carried her heels to her room and lazily slipped the keycard into the door to open it. Turning on the hallway light, she immediately noticed the vacant space where Mark's suitcase used to be. He most likely moved to another room, she thought as she dropped her shoes and purse onto the floor and reached for the zipper of her dress. A knock on the door alerted her, though. She checked to see who it was through the peephole.

Opening the door, she was surprised to see Jackson standing in front of her. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

He smirked and held up her cell phone. "How am I supposed to call you if this is sitting in my car?"

"Oh, gosh! I had no idea I even dropped it," she sheepishly replied, taking the phone from him. "Thank you for bringing this."

"You're welcome," he smoothly responded. Jackson licked his lips as he glanced down at April's cleavage. "I should be leaving now, but… I can't stay away from you tonight. Not when you're still wearing _that_."

She pulled him inside by his shirt, their lips crashing into each other as he kicked the door closed behind him. Rather than moving towards the bed, she brought him into the bathroom. He feverishly unbuttoned his shirt, while she turned on the shower. His hands reached for the back of her dress after he removed his shirt and swiftly pulled down the zipper.

April impatiently wriggled out of her tight dress, to Jackson's amusement, then she hurriedly unbuckled his belt. He loved the ferocious side of her as she forcefully pulled down his pants and boxers. After completely stripping down, she grabbed his hand and led him into the shower.

He threaded his fingers through her wet hair as his mouth devoured hers. Her hands roamed along his muscular back, moving down to his chiseled abdomen. The lighting in the bathroom was brighter giving her a better picture of his perfectly crafted body. She still couldn't believe how she got so lucky with a man like him.

Jackson heard her giggle and he slightly furrowed his brow. "What?"

"Nothing. You're just… so _hot_." She covered her mouth and laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you hear this all the time and it's probably annoying."

"No, you can say it because that's what I think about you too," he smugly replied. He cupped her ass causing her to slightly jump. Her response drew a grin from him as he leaned in to kiss her neck.

April sloppily kissed Jackson's shoulder and caressed his chest while he gnawed on her neck. She purposely grazed his erection with her fingertips, eliciting a groan from his mouth. He lifted her up, gently pressing her against the wall. She tightly wrapped her legs around his waist as he entered her. Placing his palm against the wall, he carried her with one arm as he found a smooth rhythm with her.

"Jackson," she moaned and nibbled on his earlobe.

He grinned against her neck. The sounds coming out of her mouth, her fingernails digging into his shoulders – this round of sex was even more pleasurable than their first time in the locker room. They were meant for each other, he thought. He had never felt so connected with someone during sex until now. Although he wasn't sure what to call their newly formed relationship yet, it wasn't just sex to him and he hoped she felt the same way.

She grasped his face and hungrily kissed him, teasingly biting on his lower lip and making him groan once more. "I don't normally have this much sex in one day, by the way," the redhead panted heavily.

"Me either," he chuckled. "Don't take this the wrong way, but… I could have sex with you all day, every day."

"Really? Because I'm not sure you have enough stamina to handle me," she quipped.

Jackson huskily growled into her ear causing her to laugh. Her laughter quickly reverted back to moans when he sped up his thrusts and sent her over the edge. He rested his forehead against her shoulder, breathing deeply after reaching his peak.

She brushed her fingers against his shaved head and softly laughed. "I can't feel my legs." Her legs had been gripping his waist so tight that they almost felt numb. "Don't put me down yet."

The pretty boy smiled as he lightly kissed her lips. "Trust me, I don't want to," he mumbled, placing more kisses along her jaw line. "But now, I'm going to wash your hair and your body. And after that, we're taking this to the bedroom."

April playfully rolled her eyes at his charm, but she was more than thankful that she had forgotten her cell phone in his car. She didn't want him leaving anytime soon.

* * *

**Let me know what you think please :)**

**Next week: April in Miami, more Mark, some familiar faces, maybe another Jackson appearance? ;)**


	6. Until We Meet Again

**Thank you for the reviews! This chapter is a wee bit longer than I planned, but I hope it's worth the read :) Also, updates will come in whenever I finish a chapter now because I have no idea how long this fic will be anymore lol.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

April stirred in her sleep as she woke up to the sound of her cell phone vibrating on the bedside table. Slowly lifting her head, she barely opened her eyes as she reached for it. After she grabbed her cell phone, she squinted her eyes as she found multiple new text messages. All three of her sisters had sent her a message asking her to confirm their lunch date as a family. She lazily replied to each of them with a simple yes before dropping her cell phone onto the floor and plopping her head back down against the pillow.

Her entire body ached – but with good reason. She and Jackson spent at least another hour or two fooling around in bed until neither of them had the energy to continue. Now the problem was, the redhead wasn't sure she could even get out of bed. Her muscles were sore. She had never experienced a workout quite like that one, but she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Turning her head to check on the pretty boy, he remained passed out on his stomach and lightly snoring into his pillow. The sight of his butt peeking out from under the covers made her quietly giggle. Everything about him was physically gorgeous, including his entire backside. She felt like a pervert staring at him for over a minute, so she carefully lifted the thin white sheet and covered Jackson from the waist down.

The surgical resident slowly climbed out of bed to use the bathroom. April picked up the football star's dress shirt along the way, feeling the need to partially cover herself. After wearing and buttoning up his shirt, she stretched her arms over her head and yawned in the bathroom. She spent a few minutes freshening up, laughing at her messy sex hair in the mirror and throwing cold water at her face to wake up even more. On her way back to the bedroom, a muffled yelped escaped her mouth when she found Jackson sitting up on the bed, wide awake and waiting for her.

"Stealing my shirt again?" he asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

"It's comfortable," she sheepishly answered, climbing onto the bed. April crawled across the bed, stopping in front of him and straddling his lap. She cupped his cheeks as she grinned back at him. "Last night was…"

His arms wrapped around her waist as he gently kissed her lips. "Indescribable? Because I can't exactly figure out how to describe it either, but I was a fan of _everything_ you did," he noted, causing her to blush. "I've never had sex with anyone to the point that I forced myself to stop due to exhaustion."

"Me either," she shyly replied, her hands dropping down to his chest. "Libby wouldn't believe me if I told her just how much sex I had last night. She was so disgusted about the idea that I was sleeping with Mark."

"Yeah, how about we don't talk about him?" he suggested, leaning in to kiss her neck. "That guy is toxic waste."

April closed her eyes as Jackson slowly placed soft kisses along her neck. One of his hands roamed underneath his dress shirt and caressed her lower back. "Hold on a minute," she breathed, pulling his head away from her neck. "We are supposed to have breakfast before I eventually meet my family for lunch."

"We'll order room service," he nonchalantly stated, pushing aside his dress shirt and kissing her shoulder. "We have little time left together before you leave. Plus, you look good naked."

"Oh, please. You should be saying that about yourself," she quipped. "Yeah, I'll admit that I was staring at your ass earlier when you were asleep. Not my fault it was exposed. I covered it up for you, so it wouldn't get cold."

Jackson chuckled. "It's nice that you care about the well-being of my ass." He began to unbutton his shirt as he kissed her exposed skin. "Why do you have to leave today?"

"The life of a surgeon," she truthfully said. "But… maybe you could visit me in Miami soon? I mean, if this is more than just sex and even more sex."

"This is definitely more than just sex. I'll come visit you as soon as I can," he confirmed, pulling her head down to kiss her lips. April's cell phone started ringing on the floor, but he tightened his grip around her waist to prevent her from moving. "Let it go to voicemail."

"But it might be work," the redhead insisted, forcefully prying his hands away from her body. She crawled towards the edge of the bed and playfully screamed when he pounced on top of her. "Jackson! Be a good boy!"

Jackson laughed as she squirmed out of his grip again and tumbled over the edge. He fought back a grin when she pouted at him from the floor. "Sorry."

Picking up her cell phone, April climbed back onto the bed while she answered the call. "Hi, Mom," she greeted her mother, placing a finger against her lips to shush the football player. She lightly slapped his shoulder when he tried to kiss her neck. "Yes, I can still meet you guys for lunch. The reunion? Oh, it was… interesting."

He couldn't stand the fact that his shirt was half open and her cleavage was visible in front of him. For him, it felt like he was a child on Christmas Day who cheated by opening his present early until his mother caught him and made him stop. Now, he was staring at a half-opened gift that was yelling at him to just go for it. A little teasing wouldn't kill her, he thought.

"Uh huh, Izzie was there and we managed to catch up. And umm…" April paused at the touch of Jackson's lips on her breast. Her mouth slightly dropped open as she listened to her mother speak on the other line. She forced herself to bite down on her lip to avoid letting out any embarrassing sounds. "That's… that's nice to know."

He smugly grinned, sliding his hands down to her lower back and devouring the side of her neck again with his mouth. She struggled to maintain her composure, despite fighting as hard as she could to resist him.

"Y-yes, I will see you at 12:30. O-okay, love you too. Bye," she stammered. After she hung up her cell phone, she tossed it aside and pushed Jackson onto his back. "Are you insane? That was my _mother_ on the phone!"

"I was aware of that," he noted, smiling as he placed his hands underneath his head.

"She still thinks I'm a virgin!" she added, rolling her eyes. "Or she's just in complete denial that I would have sex with a man like Mark since she doesn't think highly of him. Whatever. The point is I was talking to my mother and she would have a heart attack if she knew I was in a hotel room almost fully naked with a guy who isn't my ex-fiancé-"

"April, April. Calm down," the pretty boy advised with a chuckle. He sat up and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "You didn't get caught, okay? And I'm sorry for being impatient. Is it creepy to say that I'm a little bit obsessed with you right now?"

Glancing down at his lap, she slowly nodded her head. "Not creepy, but I can tell how obsessed you are at the moment," she teasingly stated.

He twitched his eyebrows, making her laugh. "I've had a dry spell in the past few months, so I'm making up for lost opportunities." Peeling the dress shirt from her body, he lay back and pulled her on top of his chest. "Tell me about your parents. Are they cool people?"

She rested her head beside his on the pillow. "They are very kind and loving," the surgeon answered while she drew small, invisible circles on his chest with her fingertip. "My parents never forced me to change into somebody I'm not. The only thing they really did was overly encourage me to become more social with people at school. It didn't work, obviously. I think my mom would like you."

"Oh, yeah? Why do you say that?" Jackson asked as he threaded his fingers through April's auburn hair.

"Because you're sweet and charming. You're the opposite of Mark," she happily responded. "And you're a cuddler, but that's just my personal preference. What about your mother?"

"My mother's nuts," he scoffed. "I love her, but she's a meddler. Always pushing me to find a woman, settle down and get married. Being an only child, she's desperate for grandbabies. Well, umm… that doesn't mean anything. Don't feel pressured by what I just said."

April softly laughed. "Would she like me, though?"

"A perfect woman like you? Of course she would."

"I'm not perfect, Jackson."

"You would be to her because she's a doctor too. She's not a surgeon like you are. She's actually a psychiatrist, but she specializes in… sex therapy," Jackson said, mumbling the last two words. Growing up, he had been embarrassed to be the son of a sex therapist. During their sophomore year of high school, Catherine Avery made an appearance at Seattle Grace Academy to offer a lecture for the seniors about experiencing sex for the first time and the risks of unprotected sex. His older teammates on the football team gave him a ton of crap about it. "At least I saved a lot of money by getting free condoms from her."

April nudged his side. "That's nothing to be ashamed of. If your mother was a stripper, then it would be shameful."

He shut his eyes and cringed. "I don't want to think about my mom as a stripper." Flipping their bodies over, he used his hands to support himself above her. "Alright, enough talking about that. We've got a few hours before you're supposed to meet your family, so let's use this time wisely."

"What about breakfast?"

Reaching for the room service menu on the bedside table, Jackson briefly skimmed its contents. "Hmm… you think we could order, then squeeze one in before our food arrives?" he pondered, looking down at April who simply smiled back at him. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

She knew she was running a little late. A part of April blamed herself for continuously falling for Jackson's charm. His gorgeous bluish-green eyes were her weakness.

And his smile.

As well as his nude body.

Basically, everything about him distracted her from reality. Before meeting with her family for lunch, she also had to check out of her hotel room. By then, Jackson left for his own hotel to finally change out of the clothes he had been wearing since Saturday. Their goodbye kiss lasted for ten minutes rather than ten seconds. And if she hadn't found the will power to stop them, they would have likely ended up back underneath the covers past her check out time.

It felt strange being away from him for the first time in about twelve hours. She reminded herself that he had his own life to return to, despite how much he preferred spending time with her. They were kind of dating now, if that's what they could call it. After two days of real interaction between them since high school, she went from one man who used to be her fiancé to another man who would take a bullet for her.

Her sisters would for sure call Jackson a rebound, but April didn't see him as that at all. She wasn't ready to brag about him, though. There was still Mark to deal with.

Rushing into the chosen restaurant in downtown Seattle, April spotted her family seated at a table in a far corner. Dragging her small carry on luggage behind, she waved as she approached them. "Hi! Sorry I'm late."

"Five minutes, Apes. No big deal," Alice Kepner teased. "I know that's like an hour for you, but we haven't ordered yet."

"Where's Mark?" Karen questioned curiously. "Is he parking the car?"

"Uhh… actually, he's not coming. Mark went back to Miami early because of work, so it's just me today," April timidly answered. She set her luggage underneath the table before taking a seat beside her older sister, Libby. "I'm sure that's a relief for all of you."

"Maybe," Kimmie Kepner snickered, drawing a small scowl from the redhead. "But honestly, it's nice having lunch with just the six of us without Mr. Snooty Pants bragging about himself."

"Kimmie, be nice," their mother politely scolded her. "Anyway, how was your reunion last night?"

April sipped some water before she spoke. "It was quite the event, that's for sure. I delivered a baby."

_And had the most orgasmic sex ever with Jackson Avery. Not to mention I've had sex with him at least five times since. I still can't feel my legs,_ she added internally. Karen would probably have a stroke if she heard her not so innocent daughter admit this openly.

She smiled at her family as they stared back at her with surprised expressions. "What? I'm a doctor."

"The way you just told us sounded like it wasn't a big deal, like you always deliver babies during the most random times," Alice amusingly replied. "You can't leave us hanging like that. Whose baby was it? Was it disgusting? Are you a goddess now amongst your classmates?"

"It wasn't disgusting. It was human nature. Do you remember Reed Adamson?"

Kimmie chuckled. "Wasn't she in that group of friends who hated you? Izzie was in that group."

April pursed her lips as she noticed her mother raising her brow at her. "Yes, that was the group who _ignored_ me. But anyway, Reed went into labor at the reunion and I had to deliver the baby in the women's restroom. The baby was fine and that's the whole story," she explained. "And before you ask, no. I didn't sit in the corner the entire night."

Libby gently patted her younger sister's shoulder and smiled. "That's progress. You did open your mouth and speak to other people, right?" she quipped. She received an eye roll in response. "Don't get all sensitive. I'm just messing with you."

Her sisters never hesitated to poke fun at her when they got the chance. It seemed to happen more often because they rarely saw each other in person since she moved to the East coast after graduating from Stanford. She sort of blamed herself for it by making herself an easy target.

Being the oldest of the Kepner daughters, Libby had always been the worst. There was a period of time when she continuously lashed out at April after their father passed away and even blamed her for his death once since it happened shortly after her 14th birthday. They butted heads constantly when they were teenagers and sometimes still did as adults. Kimmie and Alice had their share of playful teasing, but their older sister occasionally took it to another level.

"Tell us about Izzie, dear," Karen inquired. "You two haven't been in touch since you were children. How was it catching up with her?"

"We talked about our jobs and…" April's voice trailed when she spotted a familiar face enter the restaurant. Jackson arrived wearing more casual clothes. He wore a simple UCLA hooded jacket, blue jeans and a backwards white baseball cap. Even in less fancy clothes, the man was insanely attractive. "…her children…"

"Oh my gosh, is that Jackson Avery?" Libby interrupted after she caught the redhead staring at him. "Please tell me you bumped into him at the reunion."

Both Kimmie and Alice turned around in their seats to catch a glimpse of the pretty boy. "That's him? He is _so_ cute. I mean, way cuter than in high school," the third Kepner daughter stated. "And he's such an NFL stud. I wonder if he's single."

Fighting back her smile, April felt slightly smug considering _she_ was the lucky new woman in Jackson's life. He made eye contact with her and flashed his charming smile as he waved at her. She shyly waved back at him as her sisters snickered like young fangirls.

"He waved at you," Kimmie gasped, grinning widely at her. "Let's invite him over here! We have an empty seat."

"He- he might be meeting someone. I don't want to bother him," she insisted, biting down on her bottom lip.

"You are such a party pooper," Libby sneered before waving her arm at Jackson.

He approached their table with his hands inside of his jacket pockets. Removing his cap, he held it behind his back and nodded his head. "Hello, Dr. Kepner. It's good to see you again."

Alice giggled. "Dr. Kepner. So polite."

"It's good to see you _again_?" Kimmie asked inquisitively. "Ah, so you two managed to bump into each other at last night's reunion then. Why don't you join us for lunch? April's fiancé flaked out on us, so we have an extra seat for you right next to her."

"Well, if it's alright with everyone," Jackson replied, smiling at the rest of the family.

April's stepfather immediately nodded, pointing at the empty chair. "It's an honor to have lunch with a football star like you," he excitedly said and held out his hand. "I'm Bill, by the way. You were an amazing athlete all through high school and you still are."

He shook the older man's hand as he sat down next to his new girlfriend. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it." Glancing back at her, he softly smiled. "It's a small world, huh? Running into each other like this."

"It definitely is," she agreed, slightly ducking her head to hide her rosy cheeks.

Unbeknownst to her family, Jackson arriving at the restaurant was their secret plan all along. He couldn't stay away from her and she didn't want to stop seeing him. April had suspected at least one of her sisters would jump at the opportunity to invite him over. Her stepfather was an avid football fan. They wouldn't have done that with Mark. It was almost too easy. And she used the lunch to indirectly introduce him as the new man in her life without actually having them find that out.

"Did you know April had the biggest crush on you in high school?" Kimmie asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Kimmie," the redhead muttered. "He doesn't need to know about that."

"She used to write Mrs. April Avery in her notebooks," she continued, to her sister's dismay. "At the time, I obviously never told her I found her cute, little doodles, but now that we're all older here I think it's even funnier to share now, especially with you sitting with us."

He smirked at the embarrassed woman beside him. Her face nearly matched the color of her red top and she refused to make eye contact with anybody. "Did you draw hearts too?"

"I… umm… Kimmie, shut up," April retorted, causing her sisters to laugh. If she and Jackson weren't already involved, the situation would have been more humiliating for her. Although he sounded flattered, she still wanted to throw a brown paper bag over her head. "Don't make me tell everyone about your small accident at Homecoming in which you also just happened to be wearing a _white_ dress."

"You better not," she warned.

Karen quickly waved her arms in front of her. "Ladies, ladies. Let's all calm down and not fight in front of Mr. Avery, okay?" She apologetically looked at Jackson. "I'm so sorry about that. Even as grown women, they continue to bicker like children."

"It's alright. I didn't have any siblings growing up, so I welcome the bickering," the pretty boy admirably replied.

"Tell us more about yourself," Alice eagerly said, smiling at him. She appeared to be completely smitten by him instantly. It was likely those damn eyes.

While Jackson began to talk about himself, his and April's pinkies were interlocked underneath the table. The smallest physical contact between them was satisfying enough for them. It was hard to accept that by the end of the day, they would be 3,000 miles apart.

* * *

Two days later, it was back to work for April. Following her return home to Miami, she had another day off before reporting to her next shift at the hospital. She spent most of that day talking to Jackson on the phone or Skyping with him. He remained in Seattle, so he could catch up with his parents and hang out with his old buddies from high school. But even during the NFL offseason, he was a busy man. Summer workouts, volunteering at football camps for high school kids and scheduled appearances elsewhere prevented him from making plans to visit her.

They both knew what they were getting themselves into. A long distance relationship was far from easy. He knew that first hand with Lexie, but he wanted them to succeed. He didn't want to fail April or himself and the feeling was mutual.

On the plus side, her parents and sisters enjoyed his company… or maybe it was because they were having lunch with a hometown hero. Either way, they already liked Jackson more than they ever liked Mark, so she fully expected them to accept him as her boyfriend eventually.

Working again was the distraction the surgical resident needed. As much as she wanted to think about Jackson, she also reminded herself not to let her world revolve around one man. She had done it before and got burned badly. Becoming the best surgeon she could be was her priority since she was an intern. One unforgettable weekend with the man of her dreams shouldn't change that.

She sat in front of her locker after changing into her baby blue scrubs while she braided her hair. It didn't take long for her to start daydreaming about her boyfriend, though. And her coworkers were quick to notice her zoned out state.

"You think she's on something?" Cristina Yang questioned with her arms folded. "Her eyes are looking a little dilated. Or is it just me?"

"I think it's just you. April's got somebody on her mind," Meredith Grey speculated. She softly laughed as their fellow resident finished her side braid, yet continued to attempt to braid the ends of her hair. "Earth to April!"

The redhead flinched when Meredith snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Huh, what?" She slightly furrowed her eyebrows as her two friends laughed at her. "Jet lag, okay? My internal clock is still not reset yet."

"Yeah, uh huh. You came home yesterday except we didn't get a single phone call from you. We wanted to know how your high school reunion went," she answered, sitting beside April. "And how did Lexie look? She was there, right?"

Although Cristina and Meredith were a couple of years older than her, they were all in the same residency class. The other Grey was Lexie's cousin, originally from Boston. They barely knew each other, having only met a few times at family reunions. And Yang had also completed her undergraduate studies as well as medical school at Stanford. She and April never saw each other on campus, but their university connection automatically made them friends.

A small, small world after all.

"Lexie looked pretty good. Umm… we only talked a little bit – when Mark wasn't flirting with her," April murmured.

"Sloan flirted with another woman _and_ in front of you?" Meredith responded, shaking her head in disgust. "I always thought he was slime and that just confirmed it. So, wait. Are you two done or what?"

"Do you want me to cut off his dick?" Cristina offered. "Because I'll do it. I don't object to this at all."

April softly laughed. "No, that's okay. We're done. I broke it off with him and I think he was cheating on me too, so he's definitely out of my life." She stood up, taking her lab coat out of her locker and wearing it. "And don't worry about me. I still enjoyed myself at the reunion for other reasons."

"You fooled around with another guy, didn't you?" the Asian doctor asked with a mischievous grin. Her friend remained silent and failed miserably at hiding the smile on her face. "It's about time you became more proactive with the opposite sex. How many men, Kepner?"

"Yes, how many men?" Meredith chimed in, gently nudging their bashful coworker's side. "You don't look distraught over breaking up with Mark and you were with him since intern year. The sex must've been _really_ good if you're not crying over him."

"I… I can't say, okay? It's too personal," April reluctantly answered.

"Too personal my ass," Cristina scoffed as she and Meredith followed the redhead out of the locker room. "When are you _not_ personal with us? Sometimes you ramble so much about your personal life that you get _too_ personal. You sleep with some random guy at your high school reunion and now your lips are sealed? Like Mer said, it had to be pretty fucking good if you won't tell us what happened."

"After work, alright?" she slightly snapped, turning around to face her friends. Adjusting her lab coat, April smiled at the twosome. "Right now, I have to find Torres. It's our first day as fourth year residents and I would very much like to crush some bones."

Before she let them respond, she quickly spun back around and strolled down the hallway. She searched for the ortho attending and found her sitting behind a computer at one of the nurses' stations. Callie gazed up at her student and half-smiled. "Ah, look who's back from the tropics of Seattle," she sarcastically greeted her. "Have a good weekend?"

"I did actually," April chirped. "One of the best I've had in a while. I delivered a baby!"

"Badass," she chuckled. "But uhh… word going around is you and Sloan are no more. True?"

"Yes, it's true," the surgical resident confirmed with a small frown.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the Latina woman muttered, drawing a skeptical look from April. "Okay, I'm not sorry. It's about time you freed yourself from that man. Have you learned your lesson now?"

April sheepishly nodded and sighed. "I did, but at least something better resulted from it. I'm already seeing somebody else," she proudly stated. "And he's the sweetest. More than Mark will ever be."

Callie playfully purred. "Wow, look at you. Hopping off one speeding train and into another," she teasingly said. "Didn't know you had it in you. So, this guy… gonna give me a name?"

"Maybe after you start letting me grow my own set of cartilage in your lab today," she countered. "I've watched you do it countless times before. I know the steps and I'm ready. I'm a fourth year. It's time, Dr. Torres."

The orthopedic surgeon snickered at April's sudden spurt of confidence. She stood up and joined her at the opposite side of the nurses' station. "Sure. I agree that you're ready to start building your own cartilage – but not today."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not on my service today, Kepner," she regretfully answered and grimaced. "You're with Mark."

The redhead's mouth dropped open. "Plastics?" she softly shrieked and shook her head. "I can't be on his service today! He- we- he's my _ex-fiancé_. Do you have any idea how incredibly awkward this will be for me? Can't you do something about this? Everyone knows I'm ortho all the way."

"Yeah, but you still gotta log in hours with other specialties to fulfill the boards' requirements. And besides, it was Sloan who requested you specifically at the last minute," Torres noted, offering a sympathetic pat on the back. "I'm not sure what else to say, but… good luck!"

April was frozen. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open as Callie stepped around her to leave. On her first day back at work and as a newly minted fourth year, she received the unluckiest hand by being forced to work with Mark. She also couldn't understand why he wanted her on his service. He called her nothing and claimed he was responsible for her career. Unless, he had devised a plan to destroy everything she had worked for.

_Shit_, was the only word repeating in her head as she nervously fidgeted with a loose thread attached to her lab coat sleeve. She had been so caught up in wondering what Mark had in store for her that she didn't realize he was standing behind her after spotting her by the nurses' station.

"Ready for a day of plastics?" he enthusiastically greeted her, causing her to jump.

Slowly turning around to face her ex, April swallowed hard and forced a smile. "Umm… I suppose."

"You _suppose_?" the plastics attending recited, taking offense to her reaction. "I'm giving you a solo rhinoplasty procedure this afternoon and all I get is, 'I suppose'?"

"W-wait, what?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. "You're giving _me_ a nose job all to myself? Without any nitpicking interventions from you?"

Mark smugly grinned as he folded his arms. "You remember that consult with Mrs. Lewis before we left for Seattle?" He watched her quietly nod. "Well, her surgery's at noon and you're going to give her that new nose she chose for herself. And unless you completely botch the procedure, and I know you won't, I'm just going to sit back and watch."

"Uhh- wow. Thank you," she awkwardly replied. "Why are you doing this? I mean, after what happened this past weekend…"

"Oh, that? C'mon, that was just a rough patch," he insisted, rubbing his hand against her arm. "And you deserve this solo. You're better than all of the residents in this hospital."

April felt even more uncomfortable when Mark's hand grabbed a hold of hers. He was trying to win her back through surgeries. Douche. "Did you forget about the fact that you were cheating on me?" she whispered, moving her hand away from his. "If I truly deserve this solo, then fine. Thank you, but we are still done. There is no turning back after the things you said to me Saturday night."

"You're cute when you're angry," he nonchalantly replied. "The way your nostrils sort of flare up. It's always been kind of sexy on you. Diggin' the braid today too."

"Dr. Sloan," she sternly said. "If you don't stop, I will report you to the Chief for sexual harassment."

"That should be the least of your worries right now." He placed his hand on her lower back and led her down the hallway. "You have a nose job to prepare for and in plastics, perfection is everything. Don't screw it up, Kepner."

* * *

The rhinoplasty procedure ran smoothly and Mark had kept his word about not intervening. He only performed a brief check on her work after April finished the surgery and considered it a job well done. She hoped he was being sincere and not setting her up for a disastrous encounter with her patient when it was time to reveal her new nose. However, completing her first solo surgery felt empowering. It almost felt disgusting to feel grateful that her ex-fiancé had given one of his surgeries to her considering he rarely let residents work on his patients alone.

But his selfish game to try to win her heart back wasn't working. She wasn't biting no matter how hard he tried – or how many times he paged her. Whenever they were in separate rooms, the plastic surgeon sent her pages for the smallest favors simply to be around her. It was obnoxious, but he was her boss and she couldn't exactly blow him off.

She finally managed to avoid his presence following a post-op visit and discharge with Mrs. Lewis. Mark had business to deal with in his office, so she was relieved that it didn't include her. He was beginning to drive her nuts.

"Dr. Kepner, you have a visitor waiting for you downstairs in the waiting room," a nurse called out to her as she passed by.

"Are you sure it's not Dr. Sloan paging me for the thousandth time today?" April jokingly asked. "Anyway, thank you."

She rode an elevator to the main floor and casually walked towards the waiting room. Stopping in the doorway, she was happily surprised to see Jackson sitting inside with a magazine partially covering his face. He was dressed in a gray t-shirt, black basketball shorts and sporting some very clean Nike basketball shoes. She figured he was trying his best to blend in with the crowd.

But now she dreaded him seeing her. She didn't feel pretty at all with her barely made up face and messy side braid. If she had known he was going to surprise her at work, she would have taken a detour to the restroom to clean up her face. It was too late now, though she was thrilled to see him again.

April approached Jackson and cleared her throat. "Can I help you, sir?"

He glanced up from his magazine and smiled. "Ah, yes. I know I didn't make an appointment, but I need a consult on my knee. Heard you're one of the best – for a resident and all."

"I think I can squeeze in some time for you," she politely answered and nodded her head towards the entrance of the waiting room. "Follow me, please."

Jackson stood up from his seat and followed her out of the waiting room. He purposely trailed behind, so he could stare at her rear end. They looked mighty fine in scrub pants in his mind. April scanned her surroundings before opening a door to an on-call room and pulling him inside. She shut the door and immediately locked it afterwards.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, grinning widely at him. "I thought you had a camp thing you needed to attend this week."

"It's actually next week. Just a little, white lie to throw you off a bit," he admitted. The pretty boy cupped her cheeks and kissed her slowly, yet passionately. She softly moaned into his mouth as her hands slipped underneath his t-shirt and rested on his abdomen. "I missed you."

"Me too," she mumbled against his lips. "I probably look so unflattering right now."

"No, you're still beautiful," he insisted, pulling her in for another kiss. "And you look so hot in those scrubs."

April raised her arms over her head as he removed her scrub top for her. She returned the favor by aggressively yanking his t-shirt away from him, then she pushed him onto the bed. "I don't usually get long breaks, so let's not waste any time," she advised, climbing on top of her boyfriend and hungrily kissing him.

He didn't object to her eagerness, reaching for the strings of her scrub pants and untying it. Sliding down the baby blue material down to her thighs, a muffled groan escaped his mouth when she slipped her hand inside of his shorts.

She began kissing her way down to his chest, moving farther south to his abdomen. Just as her hands grasped the waistband of his basketball shorts, her pager went off. "No, no, no!" the redhead snapped. She reached for her pager, then she changed her mind. "I should ignore it."

"But it could be important."

"It's just Mark. I'm on his service today and he constantly pages me for nothing. He's doing it on purpose," she irritably replied. April picked up her pager from the floor and rolled her eyes at it. "Yup, it's him. He gave me a solo surgery as a way to apologize for being an ass, like it meant I'll automatically take him back."

Jackson placed his hands on her hips. "Maybe you should just go see what he wants. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't want to see him. He's been all over me since this morning," she whined. "Not literally, by the way."

"You're still working, so you should answer that page." He sat up on the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist. The football player smiled as he placed soft kisses along her chest. "I don't want you to get in trouble, okay? I'm in town until Sunday. We'll have plenty of time to be together."

April chewed on her bottom lip and sighed. "Can't you at least go down on me for like a minute? Mark can wait another minute."

"I can do it for much longer later," he responded with a wink.

"I hate you," she groaned, climbing off of Jackson and pulling up her scrub pants. She picked up her scrub top from the floor and put it back on. "Okay, text me your hotel. I'll come pick you up after work and bring you home to my apartment."

"Actually, I don't have one," he confessed, slightly grimacing. "My luggage is in my rental car, so I was hoping I could just follow you home instead. I know we just started, but if you're uncomfortable-"

"No! That makes things even better for us, but you can't stay here. I can't let Mark see you in this hospital, so find something to do for the rest of the day and come back at around seven," she instructed, picking up his t-shirt and playfully throwing it at his face.

Jackson laughed as he removed his t-shirt from his face. "Will do, Dr. Kepner."

April quickly kissed his lips. "I'll see you tonight," she promised, smiling back at him on her way out the door.

* * *

"So, Kepner," Cristina started as she finished changing into her street clothes. "You said you'd tell us who your mystery man is. Mer suggested rounds of tequila at her place. After work, remember? You told us yourself."

"I know I did, but… I'm exhausted. Mark had me running all over the place today and I just want to lie down," April lied, closing her locker and forcing herself to smile. "Rain check?"

Meredith exchanged an amused glance with Cristina, then she faced their coworker. "You live two floors above me in the same apartment complex," she pointed out. "If you need to crash on my couch tonight, I don't mind at all. What are you hiding from us?"

"Nothing, I swear," she insisted. "I'm tired."

"Right," Yang scoffed, dismissively waving her hand.

"Next time. I promise," April stated and rushed towards the exit. "Goodnight, ladies!"

Rather than risk being cornered by her friends in the elevator, she used the stairwell to make her escape. Nearly sprinting down the stairs, she exited the hospital and searched for Jackson in the parking lot. He was leaning against the side of his rental car while he used his cell phone.

"Hey," she greeted him. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, where's your car?"

"Just over there," she answered, pointing at a silver Volkswagen Jetta nearby. "Oh my gosh, you know why Mark paged me earlier? He made me proofread an article he's writing for a plastic surgery journal. I was sitting in his office for almost three hours, while he stared at me like a sex crazed maniac."

Jackson softly laughed and kissed his girlfriend's forehead. "Sounds awful, but I'm glad you survived unscathed. So I was checking out the area, trying to find a place to take you out for our first real date, but I have a feeling you know where to go since you live here."

"Surprise me like you did today," she chirped. "I'll go get my car."

The drive home was fairly short, about a ten-minute drive from the hospital to her apartment building. He dragged his luggage inside as he followed April into her home. Unsurprising to him, everything was neat and tidy. "Nice place," he complimented. "You shared this with Mark?"

"Not exactly. He has a condo in Miami Beach, but he would sleep here if he was too lazy to drive home," she explained, dropping her purse onto the couch. "All of his stuff is gone now, so he has no reason to be here anymore."

"Good to know." Jackson set his luggage beside the couch, then he picked up both of April's hands and interlocked their fingers together. "This isn't overwhelming, right? Me showing up uninvited just a couple of days after we parted ways doesn't scream stalker or anything to you?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "I've never had a guy – a very busy guy like you – go out of their way just to visit me. My track record with men isn't anything to brag about. If I'm overwhelmed at all, it's because I'm happier than I've ever been, which is somewhat awkward to admit because we just met each other again this past weekend and-"

He shut her up by pressing his lips against hers. She didn't resist him, tugging on his t-shirt and blindly walking backwards towards her bedroom. She bumped into the wall causing her to softly groan in pain. Rubbing the back of her head, April shyly smiled at Jackson.

"Your clumsiness is adorable," he noted, lifting up her blouse simultaneously. After he removed his t-shirt, he gently pushed her into the bedroom, his hands working on the button of her jeans.

She kicked off her shoes before lying down on her bed. He helped her remove her jeans, tossing them behind him. He slipped out of his shoes, placing them neatly on the floor. Carefully joining her on the bed, Jackson cradled the back of April's head and placed a kiss against her temple. He moved to her neck, his tongue sending tingles throughout her body with each kiss. The mood was different from their previous sexual engagements. He purposely took his precious time, slowly kissing her pale skin and enjoying every moan coming out of her mouth.

Her fingernails lightly scratched his upper back as he pushed his hips into her. She could feel his hard length pressing against her through his shorts with every movement he made. He left trails of kisses down her body, stopping at the waistband of her panties. Pushing himself up onto his knees, the pretty boy grasped the sides of her underwear and leisurely slid them down her legs.

April inhaled sharply, closing her eyes as Jackson's mouth invaded her most sensitive area. She dug her heels into the mattress, her head tilting back as waves of pleasure coursed through every inch of her body. It didn't take very long for her to reach her peak, which slightly amused him. Maybe that one minute she wanted from him in the on-call room wasn't impossible after all, he thought. He gazed up at her chest rising and deflating rapidly, then he pulled himself up towards her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"You okay?" he asked concerned.

"I'm great," she breathed, softly smiling back at him as she panted heavily.

"Good," he huskily murmured, using one hand to remove his shorts and boxers. "Because I want to make love to you very, very slowly."

The infatuated redhead wondered if he ever gave other women orgasms by just saying that, but she also refused to think about other women who have had sex with him in the past. She already loved the idea of being the only woman he wanted to be with. Why ruin that with old flames she knew nothing about?

Jackson unclasped her bra, using his teeth to pull down one of the straps. He removed it from her completely and kept his eyes focused on hers as he entered her slowly. Pressing his forehead against hers, he nipped her bottom lip with his teeth and spent a few seconds appreciating how perfect he fit inside of her. He found a smooth, slow rhythm while he planted more kisses along her jaw line. Her legs intertwined with his as she exhaled soft moans into his ear.

Her hands roaming carelessly all over his backside, his lips attacking his favorite spots on her neck while he continued his slow and deep thrusts – it was pure ecstasy for the both of them. And they still had another four days together before he had to leave.

No shame. No shame at all.

* * *

A month and a half had passed since the reunion and April was on cloud nine. Her relationship with Jackson remained under wraps and he was only known as "an old classmate from high school" to Meredith and Cristina. She didn't want anybody making a big deal about them due to his star status, so they wanted to wait a little longer before going public. But they were happy, despite the obstacle of living away from each other. He was currently busy in San Francisco, participating in preseason workouts with the Niners. However, they always managed to talk on the phone at least once a day since he left Miami.

She felt invincible until one major setback.

The fourth year resident had locked herself inside one of the women's restrooms in the hospital. She stood in front of the sink, checking her watch for the minute hand to reach the number three. Something hadn't visited her in a month and it wasn't an actual person. She considered herself to be a human clock, always on time and never late.

But this time, she was neither on time nor late. And it worried her greatly.

Worried because she had slept with two different men on back to back nights. She had been taking birth control pills since she became sexually active, but she always knew there was that 1% chance of it failing on her. Plus, she was still two years away from finishing her residency. A baby was definitely not a part of her future plans yet.

Finally, five minutes had passed and it was time to check the results of the three pregnancy tests she swiped from a supply closet. As someone who triple checked her work all the time, she made sure to take multiple tests in case of a false positive. April took a deep breath as she removed each test from its box one by one.

Positive. Positive. _Positive._

Her eyes immediately swelled with tears at the sight of three positive results. She still wanted a blood test to absolutely confirm it, but if she was indeed pregnant, her biggest worry wasn't the baby itself but rather _who_ it belonged to.

Jackson Avery or Mark Sloan?


End file.
